Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

outline

1 noun
     
out‧line1
1 [uncountable and countable] the main ideas or facts about something, without the details:
a research proposal outline
outline of
an outline of world history
broad/rough/general outline
a broad outline of the committee's plans
in outline
A debt reduction scheme was agreed in outline (=people agreed on its main points).
2CF [uncountable and countable] a line around the edge of something which shows its shape
outline of
The outlines of animals were cut into the rock.
an outline map of Europe
in outline
figures drawn in outline
3 [countable] a plan for a piece of writing in which each new idea or fact is separately written down:
Always write an outline for your essays.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary