outline
Americannoun
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the line by which a figure or object is defined or bounded; contour.
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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.
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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)
noun
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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
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a drawing or manner of drawing consisting only of external lines
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( as modifier )
an outline map
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verb
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to draw or display the outline of
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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
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are outliningprogressive
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is outliningprogressive
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have been outliningperfect progressive
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has been outliningperfect progressive
Past
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outlinedsimple
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had outlinedperfect
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was outliningprogressive
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were outliningprogressive
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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:
Every familiar object — the chair, the laundry basket, the glass of water beside the bed — seemed to acquire a slightly accusatory moonlit outline.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Presented to and approved by the County of Los Angeles, the documents outline studio, theme park and hotel expansion plans, detailing requirements such as as height, noise and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Taken together, the agreements constitute the outline of a modern trading framework for the AI era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
So if you agreed to send notes after every meeting, make sure you’re sending a detailed outline of what you both talked about in a timely manner.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
But just as quickly as Clara had gone purple she was back to her usual self, no outline at all, looking more like a real person than a spirit.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
But the Nauru Soccer Federation now has a real website, where it outlines its plans and also sells a national team shirt to raise funds to grow the game.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Beyond dispatches from his red-and-white-checkered tablecloth joint and name-dropping, Dan Tana’s memoir outlines his significant contributions to soccer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The proposal, which will likely be finalized later this year, outlines a set of factors for employers to consider before approving investments.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Dicker said traders have kept losing money on long oil positions each time Trump announces he has in hand the outlines of a deal.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
I break off a twig and scrape at the dust in the outlines.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Her legal case outlined an alleged pattern of illegal behaviour, in which the accounts of Grande's co-workers were systematically targeted over several years.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Last year it closed its Brussels plant and outlined plans to cut up to 7,500 jobs over the next few years while also taking measures to increase productivity, speed and flexibility at its German sites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The layoffs, outlined in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday, will affect about 180 staff and contract positions across BuzzFeed and its sister brands HuffPost and Tasty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
This means officials expect that tariffs on EU goods will generally be capped at 15 percent, as outlined in the deal.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Lena had outlined the images in considerable detail, including subtleties of light and shade, so that the finished products looked quite accomplished.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
A CPF is a mutually agreed plan between the bank and a client country outlining development priorities for a multi-year period.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Europe’s competition watchdog said it sent a ‘Statement of Objections’ to the companies outlining its preliminary findings, adding that this doesn’t prejudge the outcome of an investigation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Market breadth and market leadership are two very different things, Stockton said, outlining that semiconductor stocks have had particularly narrow leadership.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
The inquest had heard Cusack's family sent a written complaint to Sheffield United in the weeks following her death, outlining issues allegedly stemming from her working relationship with the club's coach, Jonathan Morgan.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
She drew his face, outlining his head and the thick fringe of hair.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
