1. to knock down or tackle someone by extending one’s arm horizontally across their path, typically at neck or chest level
Usage: informal; sports

Examples

• The linebacker clotheslined the running back at the twenty-yard line.
• He got clotheslined while running through the park and fell hard.
• The defender was penalized for clotheslining the receiver.
• She accidentally clotheslined her brother while playing in the yard.
• The hockey player was ejected for clotheslining his opponent.
• He clotheslined the attacker in self-defense.