contour line
a line joining points of equal elevation on a surface.
the representation of such a line on a map.
Mathematics. a line parallel to a trace.: Compare trace1 (def. 11).
Origin of contour line
1- Also called contour, level curve, level line.
Words Nearby contour line
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use contour line in a sentence
Burnt oranges and limes, powder-blue backgrounds, green shadows on skin, blue contour lines.
Alice Neel was the greatest American portraitist of the 20th century. Her work continues to astonish. | Sebastian Smee | March 25, 2021 | Washington PostThe scenery is quietly pleasant, the hills away to the southwest exceeding, here and there, the 500 feet contour line.
Wanderings in Wessex | Edric HolmesWho gave the 1,000 feet contour line that arbitrary nomenclature is unknown.
Wanderings in Wessex | Edric HolmesThe contour-line of 0, or datum level, is the coastal boundary of any land form.
It follows the 600-feet contour-line and winds 211 therefore exactly round the outline of the hill.
The Old Road | Hilaire Belloc
It ran straight along the 300-feet contour-line, and took the southern edge of a wood called Brockham Warren.
The Old Road | Hilaire Belloc
British Dictionary definitions for contour line
a line on a map or chart joining points of equal height or depth: Often shortened to: contour
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
Scientific definitions for contour line
[ kŏn′tur′ ]
A line on a map joining points of equal elevation above a given level, usually mean sea level.♦ The change in elevation between one contour line and the next is the contour interval.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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