outline
Americannoun
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outlines
plural
-
the line by which a figure or object is defined or bounded; contour.
-
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.
-
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)
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outlines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
outlined,
past participle, past
-
outlining
present participle
noun
-
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
-
-
a drawing or manner of drawing consisting only of external lines
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( as modifier )
an outline map
-
verb
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to draw or display the outline of
-
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
-
are outliningprogressive
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is outliningprogressive
-
have been outliningperfect progressive
-
has been outliningperfect progressive
Past
-
outlinedsimple
-
had outlinedperfect
-
was outliningprogressive
-
were outliningprogressive
-
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:
The company said it would update its strategy in December, giving new Chief Executive Meg O’Neill her first opportunity to outline her vision to investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The latest clinical practice guidelines from the American Heart Association outline several steps intended to improve measurement accuracy.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
Ahead of the Bangkok talks, Cordano released an "aid to negotiations" -- a non-binding outline of a possible treaty, with brackets around the most contentious sections.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
I could outline in detail why every moment of the record happens when it does.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
I peered into the darkness, but all I could see was the faint outline of far away mountains against the dusky horizon.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Its website outlines peptides, including sermorelin, that may be offered in fertility-related treatment plans, including:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The nonprofit Stand Up for Stand Up posted a detailed breakdown of the data that outlines a 66% shrinkage in the SiriusXM Raw channel roster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Richard Hasen, professor of law at UCLA, outlines five levers the president could pull and how states, courts, and the people could respond.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
Microsoft stock rises after the tech company outlines new features for CoPilot, its AI assistant.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
The outlines of the huts are upon us in the dawn like a dark, deep sleep.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
LA28 Cultural Olympiad Executive Director Nora Halpern and Jones provided updates on plans first outlined in May, including an official Cultural Olympiad mark recognizing participating programs and a digital calendar and mapping platform.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Nvidia stock was wavering as it outlined investments in European AI start-ups and safety initiatives.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Hani, 20, from Kurdistan and 22-year-old Hossam from Sudan both previously contributed to a report called Stranded Dreams, which outlined the problems older teenagers who were asylum seekers could face when trying to access education.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
The amounts Trump outlined work out to a little more than 100,000 barrels a day this month and roughly 125,000 barrels a day in November.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Her name had been painted with great skill in red paint and outlined with a fine line of cream in a way that he would never have managed.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
On Monday, hundreds of professional stand-up comedians flooded Instagram and TikTok with front-facing videos outlining an issue in the comedy community that had been brewing for months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
She attached a letter Deters had written outlining his tax dispute: “Don Jr. and I are very close with Eric Deters and his wife and I know he sent you a letter,” she wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
"Other shopping centres have a really important purpose as a community hub," says Somerfield, outlining another potential use.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Dramatic innovation will be required to deliver the revenue necessary to fund the gap,” the consultants wrote, outlining four categories likely to help increase growth.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
I kept writing my memo to the Atlanta Police Department and before I knew it I had typed close to nine pages outlining all the things I thought had gone wrong.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
