streamline

[ streem-lahyn ]
/ ˈstrimˌlaɪn /

noun

a teardrop line of contour offering the least possible resistance to a current of air, water, etc.
the path of a particle that is flowing steadily and without turbulence in a fluid past an object.

verb (used with object), stream·lined, stream·lin·ing.

to make streamlined.
to alter in order to make more efficient or simple.

adjective

streamlined.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
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decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of streamline

First recorded in 1870–75; stream + line1

Words nearby streamline

streamflow, streaming, streaming movement, streaming potential, streamlet, streamline, streamline flow, streamlined, streamliner, streamside, streamway
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to streamlining

distribute, place, plan, file, conduct, establish, assign, fashion, carve, frame, construct, embody, produce, build, forge, mold, facilitate, reduce, clarify, shorten

Example sentences from the Web for streamlining

British Dictionary definitions for streamlining

streamline
/ (ˈstriːmˌlaɪn) /

noun

a contour on a body that offers the minimum resistance to a gas or liquid flowing around it
an imaginary line in a fluid such that the tangent at any point indicates the direction of the velocity of a particle of the fluid at that point

verb (tr)

to make streamlined
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 streamlining

streamline
[ strēm′līn′ ]

To construct or reconstruct an object to reduce the amount of drag it undergoes as it moves through a fluid, especially air or water.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for streamlining

streamline

The line traced by a liquid or gas as it moves. Streamlines are most commonly used in describing the flow of a liquid or gas around a solid object.

notes for streamline

A “streamlined” design is one in which objects that move through a gas or liquid are shaped to match these lines, and therefore reduce the energy required to produce that motion.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.