Outline

How to spell outline

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce outline

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does outline mean?

1. nounA general description or plan presenting the main points without full detail.
2. nounThe line that marks the outer edge or shape of an object.
3. verbTo give a general description of something, or to draw its outer edge.

Outline in a sentence

• noun

  She sent the team a rough outline of the project before the meeting.

• noun

  The dark outline of the mountains was just visible against the dawn sky.

• verb

  The manager will outline the new policy at tomorrow's briefing.

• noun

  The report includes a brief outline of the proposed budget changes.

• noun

  She traced the outline of her hand onto the paper.

• verb

  Please outline your main objectives in the opening paragraph.

Where does outline come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Outline is a transparent English compound, joining the native word 'out', meaning outer or external, to 'line', the long-travelled word for a drawn stroke or boundary. 'Line' itself traces back to the Latin linea, meaning a linen thread or a string stretched taut, which is why a straight mark and a cord share the same name. The compound first appears in English in the late 1600s as an artist's and draughtsman's term: the 'out line' was literally the outer line that bounds a drawn figure, the contour enclosing its shape. From that visual sense it broadened in the 1700s to mean a sketch giving only the main features, and then a written summary or plan that captures the chief points without the detail. Because both halves are common everyday words, the spelling holds no real surprises; the only thing to remember is that it is written as a single solid word, not two.

How the word is built

• out- (outer, external)
• line (a drawn stroke or boundary)