noun, verb, -lined, -lin⋅ing.| 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. | outlines, the essential features or main aspects of something under discussion: At the first meeting, we gave her only the outlines of the project. |
| 5. | Printing. an ornamented type in which the outside contours of each character appear in black, with the inside left white. |
| 6. | to draw the outline of, or draw in outline, as a figure or object. |
| 7. | to give an outline of; sketch the main features of: On the first day, the professor just outlined the course for us. |