contour
Americannoun
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the outline of a figure or body; the edge or line that defines or bounds a shape or object.
- Synonyms:
- boundary, form, configuration
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Phonetics. a distinctive pattern of changes in pitch, stress, or tone extending across all or part of an utterance, especially across a sentence, and contributing to meaning.
verb (used with object)
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to mark with contour lines.
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to make or form the contour or outline of.
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to build (a road, railroad track, etc.) in conformity with the contour of the land.
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to mold or shape so as to fit a certain configuration.
cars with seats that are contoured for comfort.
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to apply foundation and bronzer along the natural bone structure of (the face) to create definition.
ways to contour your nose.
adjective
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molded or shaped to fit a particular contour or form.
contour seats.
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Agriculture. of or used in a system of plowing, cultivating, sowing, etc., along the contour lines of the land in order to trap water runoff and prevent erosion.
noun
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the outline of a mass of land, figure, or body; a defining line
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See contour line
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( as modifier )
a contour map
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(often plural) the shape or surface, esp of a curving form
the contours of her body were full and round
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(modifier) shaped to fit the form of something
a contour chair
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a rising and falling variation pattern, as in music and intonation
verb
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to shape so as to form the contour of something
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to mark contour lines on
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to construct (a road, railway, etc) to follow the outline of the land
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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contoursimple
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contourssimple
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have contouredperfect
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has contouredperfect
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am contouringprogressive
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are contouringprogressive
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is contouringprogressive
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have been contouringperfect progressive
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has been contouringperfect progressive
Past
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contouredsimple
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had contouredperfect
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was contouringprogressive
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were contouringprogressive
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had been contouringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of contour
First recorded in 1655–65; from French, equivalent to con- + tour “a turn,” modeled on Italian contorno, derivative of contornare “to outline”; see origin at con-, tour, turn
Explanation
Contour is the outline or shape of something. A shoe that fits well along the contours or shape of your foot is a good fit. Contour comes from the Italian contorno meaning "to draw a line," which is precisely what you are doing when you trace the contour of something. A road that contours a mountain follows along its edge and a mattress that contours to your body, adjusts to your shape. You might buy the kind of shoes that are designed to contour or mold to the shape of your feet over time, in which case you'll have to break them in.
Vocabulary lists containing contour
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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ACT Vocabulary List
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Butterfly Yellow
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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:
Yes, the contour palette is back, though Patrick says “no-makeup makeup” is still very much here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
Sometimes they are used to contour or shape the nose or lips.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
Yeah, the Chinese government is definitely mining my data, but so is Mark Zuckerberg, and Zuckerberg’s Facebook never gave me the perfect step-by-step tutorial of how to contour my face for a truly flawless finish.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2025
If this occurs on a person’s face, it may rarely produce a smooth, attractive-appearing facial contour known as lepra bonita, or “pretty leprosy.”
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2024
No solid contour was certain, but all devolved with the evening into one crabbed mass, gnarled and dark beneath the moon.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
For the new research, the team built a collection of silly sprinklers with different contours.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
My hope is that after July 4, once we’ve seen how this Washington makeover ends, we can look at some bigger stories that have the same contours.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2026
The tiles can be cut to fit the contours of the space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
“His transfer came a few months earlier, not a few days earlier. The contours of the relationships between Stagg and Krick and the others are accurate, but they took place in a more compressed timeline.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Most of my communications were mediated by Melissa, who was now my deputy chief of staff and knew the contours of my life better than anyone.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Boone’s design, patented in 1892, was narrow and curved, rather than wide and flat, allowing garments to be slipped over the board, and making it far easier to iron sleeves and contoured bodices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
This hero was contoured and svelte, wealthy and suave, a Wall Street whiz and owner of land, a man who wore Brioni suits and a Cartier family heirloom watch.
From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2023
Immaculately groomed and entirely self-possessed, Siobhan bestrides the world of public relations like an expertly contoured colossus.
From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
"They're not treating wrinkles or lax skin. They want less girth to their neck, a slimmer, more contoured neck," said Scot Glasberg, president-elect of Plastic Surgery Foundation, who practices in New York.
From Reuters ● Sep. 1, 2023
She raised her narrow, contoured eyebrows at me.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
“We started to see a lot more intensive makeup looks, with contouring and heavy eye shadow application.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
Queer fashion designers, stylists and makeup artists — including contouring drag queens — are responsible for much of what Americans see in movies, magazines and the mirror.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
For each patient, doctors typically spend between 25 minutes and two hours working through about 100 scan cross-sections, carefully "contouring" or outlining bones and organs.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2023
The procedure became one of the most popular options in the body contouring industry.
From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2023
Now she brought out fake eyelashes, green shadow, black liner, base, contouring brushes, eyebrow pencil, coral gloss.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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.
