outline: Meaning and Definition of

out•line

Pronunciation: (out'līn"), [key]
— n., v., -lined, -lin•ing.
—n.
  1. the line by which a figure or object is defined or bounded; contour.
  2. a drawing or sketch restricted to line without shading or modeling of form.
  3. 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.
  4. the essential features or main aspects of something under discussion: At the first meeting, we gave her only the outlines of the project.
  5. an ornamented type in which the outside contours of each character appear in black, with the inside left white.
—v.t.
  1. to draw the outline of, or draw in outline, as a figure or object.
  2. to give an outline of; sketch the main features of: On the first day, the professor just outlined the course for us.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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