outline
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
-
Printing. an ornamented type in which the outside contours of each character appear in black, with the inside left white.
verb (used with object)
-
outlines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
outlined,
past participle, past
-
outlining
present participle
noun
-
a preliminary or schematic plan, draft, account, etc
-
(usually plural) the important features of an argument, theory, work, etc
-
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
-
( as modifier )
an outline map
-
verb
-
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
-
outlinesimple
-
outlinessimple
-
have outlinedperfect
-
has outlinedperfect
-
am outliningprogressive
-
are outliningprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Expository Writing, List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Text Structure
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Your adviser should be clear about their motivations, and be able to outline them on paper.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
A separate law lets tribes comment on general plans that outline where developers can propose housing, and commercial and industrial facilities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
EU treaties do not outline such a possibility.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
Uefa did not outline what steps it intended to take should Fifa not meet the deadline.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
A moment later, the darkness around her began to lift, and she could see his outline next to her.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
A lateral moraine, a ridge of material left along the side of a glacier, outlines the mouth.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
A line of graphics along one wall outlines the details of each shuttle mission — 135 in all — as vertical stripes of information.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 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
A source familiar with the figures told BBC Sport the creditors list outlines the "amount owed and not paid for Q3" of 2026, not the full amounts.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Now the precise outlines of her skull show through the skin of her face, presaging death.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Puente announced his decision at the end of a lengthy congressional session on Tuesday evening in which he had outlined new rail safety measures and been grilled by the opposition.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Joy Wiltermuth and Greg Robb outlined what the Treasury might do to mitigate upward pressure on long-term bond yields.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
"France is not heading toward a crisis. But if we fail to achieve the turnaround outlined in the budget, we are headed straight for a wall."
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Elon Musk’s rocket maker outlined three segments and estimated its AI business to have the largest potential of the group, with a bigger opportunity than its connectivity and space endeavors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
The toes, the ball, and the heel were so clearly outlined as to leave no doubt that a woman had left the print.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Oracle said it would raise the full amount it earmarked for additional financing through fiscal 2030, just days after outlining those plans.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Much work remains to be done to finesse the conclusions, and a paper outlining the results is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
In her statement on Friday, Meghan said that when she received the letter outlining allegations against her father in 2018, she was "given assurance that these were being investigated".
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 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
Then Mr. Stoker walks through the 2nd problem, outlining the steps with his red marker.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
