outline
Americannoun
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the line by which a figure or object is defined or bounded; contour.
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a drawing or sketch restricted to line without shading or modeling of form.
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a general sketch, account, or report, indicating only the main features, as of a book, subject, or project.
an outline of medieval history; an outline of a speech.
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outlines, the essential features or main aspects of something under discussion.
At the first meeting, we gave her only the outlines of the project.
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Printing. an ornamented type in which the outside contours of each character appear in black, with the inside left white.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a preliminary or schematic plan, draft, account, etc
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(usually plural) the important features of an argument, theory, work, etc
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the line by which an object or figure is or appears to be bounded
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a drawing or manner of drawing consisting only of external lines
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( as modifier )
an outline map
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verb
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to draw or display the outline of
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to give the main features or general idea of
Synonym Usage
See form.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outlinesimple
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outlinessimple
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have outlinedperfect
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has outlinedperfect
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am outliningprogressive
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are outliningprogressive
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is outliningprogressive
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have been outliningperfect progressive
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has been outliningperfect progressive
Past
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outlinedsimple
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had outlinedperfect
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was outliningprogressive
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were outliningprogressive
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had been outliningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outline
Explanation
The gist, the essence, the major parts of something — that's its outline. The origins of outline come from the artistic practice of marking a line around the outer edge of a person or shape in a picture before filling it in. Only later, in the 1800s, did it come to be applied to verbal descriptions, too. Technically an outline suggests a condensed form of something, but as any high school or college student knows, course outlines have a habit of being pretty darn long. In 1919 H.G. Wells wrote a book called An Outline of History. Its length? 1,324 pages.
Vocabulary lists containing outline
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Expository Writing, List 2
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Writing - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Presented to and approved by the County of Los Angeles, the documents outline studio, theme park and hotel expansion plans, detailing requirements such as as height, noise and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Today, before every commercial flight, cabin crew are required to outline where a plane's exits are, as well as the location of life vests and how to inflate them.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Taken together, the agreements constitute the outline of a modern trading framework for the AI era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
So if you agreed to send notes after every meeting, make sure you’re sending a detailed outline of what you both talked about in a timely manner.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
George stared at that light, afraid that if he even blinked it would disappear, but soon he could see the outline of a gigantic ship steaming toward them.
From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis
But the Nauru Soccer Federation now has a real website, where it outlines its plans and also sells a national team shirt to raise funds to grow the game.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Beyond dispatches from his red-and-white-checkered tablecloth joint and name-dropping, Dan Tana’s memoir outlines his significant contributions to soccer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The proposal, which will likely be finalized later this year, outlines a set of factors for employers to consider before approving investments.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Dicker said traders have kept losing money on long oil positions each time Trump announces he has in hand the outlines of a deal.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
There was a disenfranchisement from both the present and the past, from the body beside him and the headlights in front of him; he was enclosed in a timeless realm without margins, outlines, or tense.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
The most recent government directive, issued by China’s cabinet known as the State Council, came into effect this month and outlined how companies and individuals can invest overseas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
This means officials expect that tariffs on EU goods will generally be capped at 15 percent, as outlined in the deal.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
So if the amount outlined within the job posting is below what you want to earn, “don’t be afraid to move on” to other opportunities.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
EMR has also outlined "challenges" with both the 810s and the older Class 222s, affecting the toilets, air conditioning and catering equipment.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
“During your stay, all of your actions will be recorded by video cameras, as outlined in the consent agreements you and your parents signed earlier.”
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
A CPF is a mutually agreed plan between the bank and a client country outlining development priorities for a multi-year period.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Nick Weaver from Claverdon, Warwickshire, has also been outlining the experience of those whose more remote location sees them reliant on the alternative fuel source.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
On Friday, Thinking Machines released its first manifesto, outlining its vision for a future in which AI was decentralized and built on local knowledge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Market breadth and market leadership are two very different things, Stockton said, outlining that semiconductor stocks have had particularly narrow leadership.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
She went back to the board, where she was outlining the third act of the play, and Pearl puzzled over this as she packed her books away.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
