streamline

[ streem-lahyn ]
See synonyms for: streamlinestreamlined on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a teardrop line of contour offering the least possible resistance to a current of air, water, etc.

  2. the path of a particle that is flowing steadily and without turbulence in a fluid past an object.

verb (used with object),stream·lined, stream·lin·ing.
  1. to make streamlined.

  2. to alter in order to make more efficient or simple.

adjective
  1. streamlined.

Origin of streamline

1
First recorded in 1870–75; stream + line1

Words Nearby streamline

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use streamline in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for streamline

streamline

/ (ˈstriːmˌlaɪn) /


noun
  1. a contour on a body that offers the minimum resistance to a gas or liquid flowing around it

  2. an imaginary line in a fluid such that the tangent at any point indicates the direction of the velocity of a particle of the fluid at that point

verb(tr)
  1. to make streamlined

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for streamline

streamline

[ strēmlīn′ ]


  1. To construct or reconstruct an object to reduce the amount of drag it undergoes as it moves through a fluid, especially air or water.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for streamline

streamline

The line traced by a liquid or gas as it moves. Streamlines are most commonly used in describing the flow of a liquid or gas around a solid object.

Notes for streamline

A “streamlined” design is one in which objects that move through a gas or liquid are shaped to match these lines, and therefore reduce the energy required to produce that motion.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.