outline
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English
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
outline (plural outlines)
- A line marking the boundary of an object figure.
- The outer shape of an object or figure.
- 1950 March, H. A. Vallance, “On Foot Across the Forth Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 149:
- From this point of vantage, we were able to gain an impression of the massive outlines of the main structure, and its intricate maze of girders.
- A sketch or drawing in which objects are delineated in contours without shading.
- 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, , London: J Heptinstall for W. Rogers, , →OCLC:
- Painters, by their outlines, colours, lights, and shadows, represent the same in their pictures.
- A general description of some subject.
- A statement summarizing the important points of a text.
- A preliminary plan for a project.
- the outline of a speech
- (film) A prose telling of a story intended to be turned into a screenplay; generally longer and more detailed than a treatment.
- (fishing) A setline or trotline.
Translations
line marking the boundary of an object figure
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outer shape of an object or figure
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sketch or drawing in which objects are delineated in contours without shading
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general description of some subject
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statement summarizing the important points of a text
preliminary plan of a project
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(film industry) a prose telling of a story intended to be turned into a screenplay
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See also
Verb
outline (third-person singular simple present outlines, present participle outlining, simple past and past participle outlined)
- (transitive) To draw an outline of.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- He stood transfixed before the unaccustomed view of London at night time, a vast panorama which reminded him […] of some wood engravings far off and magical, in a printshop in his childhood. They dated from the previous century and were coarsely printed on tinted paper, with tinsel outlining the design.
- (transitive) To summarize.
- Wikipedia items featuring books usually outline them after giving their background.
- 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
- At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.
- (transitive, software compilation) To optimize for size by replacing repeated code fragments with function calls.
Translations
to draw an outline of something
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to summarize something
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked