contour

[ kon-toor ]

/ ˈkɒn tʊər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contour ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the outline of a figure or body; the edge or line that defines or bounds a shape or object.

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)

to mark with contour lines.

to make or form the contour or outline of.

to build (a road, railroad track, etc.) in conformity with the contour of the land.

to mold or shape so as to fit a certain configuration: cars with seats that are contoured for comfort.

adjective

molded or shaped to fit a particular contour or form: contour seats.

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.

Nearby words

Origin of contour

1655–65; < French, equivalent to con- con- + tour a turn (see tour), modeled on Italian contorno, derivative of contornare to outline; see turn

SYNONYMS FOR contour

1 configuration, form, boundary.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contour ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsre·con·tour, verb (used with object)un·con·toured, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for contour

The bank notes no longer crinkled when he walked; they had taken the contour of his hairy chest.
A Village of Vagabonds|F. Berkeley Smith
Perhaps the contour has been destroyed by the action of wind and weather.
A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy|Ida Pfeiffer
The contour of the face expresses the most powerful command, and exalted, boundless, expansion of thought.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 487|Various
Could you give us a description of the contour of the bullet, and its length?
Warren Commission (3 of 26): Hearings Vol. III (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

Primaries eleven; fifth secondary wanting; after shaft to contour feathers present.
British Birds in their Haunts|Rev. C. A. Johns

British Dictionary definitions for contour

contour

/ (ˈkɒntʊə) /

noun

the outline of a mass of land, figure, or body; a defining line

See contour line
(as modifier)a contour map

(often plural) the shape or surface, esp of a curving formthe contours of her body were full and round

(modifier) shaped to fit the form of somethinga contour chair

a rising and falling variation pattern, as in music and intonation

verb (tr)

to shape so as to form the contour of something

to mark contour lines on

to construct (a road, railway, etc) to follow the outline of the land

Word Origin for contour

C17: from French, from Italian contorno, from contornare to sketch, from tornare to turn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for contour

contour

1660s, a term in painting and sculpture, from French contour "circumference, outline," from Italian and Medieval Latin contornare "to go around," from Latin com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + tornare "to turn (on a lathe);" see turn (v.).

First recorded application to topography is from 1769. Earlier the word was used to mean "bedspread, quilt" (early 15c.) in reference to its falling over the sides of the mattress. Related: Contoured. Contour line in geography is from 1844.

contour

noun

verb (used with object)

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of contour

Examples from the Web for contour

British Dictionary definitions for contour

contour

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for contour

Word Origin and History for contour

contour