contour
/ˈkɒntɔː/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Australia/ˈkɔntʉːə/
contour noun: an outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape.
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Noun
contour (plural contours)
- An outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape.
- the low drag contour of a modern automobile
- The semi-streamlined contour of the earlier G.W.R. railcars has been given up in favour of a more utilitarian blunt-nose end, and effective floor space gained thereby.1941 October, “Notes and News: Great Western Parcels Railcar”, in Railway Magazine, page 474
- A line on a map or chart delineating those points which have the same altitude or other plotted quantity: a contour line or isopleth; (metonymically) the landform or its surface.
- Synonyms:
- contour line
- a speech sound which behaves as a single segment, but which makes an internal transition from one quality, place, or manner to another.
- A general description giving the most important points.
- Contours of a deal with conservative holdouts who had been blocking McCarthy’s rise had emerged the night before, and took hold after four dismal days and 14 failed votes in an intraparty standoff unseen in modern times.January 7 2023, Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri, “McCarthy elected House speaker in rowdy post-midnight vote”, in AP News
Verb
contour (third-person singular simple present contours, present participle contouring, simple past and past participle contoured)
- To form a more or less curved boundary or border upon.
- To mark with contour lines.
- To practise the makeup technique of contouring.
- What is the French-preferred method to add dimension to the skin, if not to contour?2015 April 29, Kathleen Hou, “Why French Women Don’t Contour”, in The Cut, New York, U.S.A.: Vox Media, retrieved 02 Jul 2020
- To shape conditions regarding salient points.
- But the bill will exact a heavy cost — one that will complicate its prospects even if it passes the full House this week and will contour the political climate ahead of 2026 midterm elections.2025 May 19, Stephen Collinson, “A double challenge is putting Trump’s credibility on the line”, in CNN Politics, CNN
contour meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
contour in Hindi
- समोच्च
contour in Tamil
- வார்ப்படத்தின் மேடுபள்ள மட்டநிலை அடுக்கு
contour in Marathi
- समोच्च, समोच्चकरण, समोच्च करण्यासाठी
contour in Urdu
- کنٹور, کنٹور کرنا
More languagesFewer languages
- contour in Bengali
- রূপরেখা, আকৃতি
- contour in Telugu
- కాంటౌర్, కాంటూర్ చెయ్యడానికి
- contour in Malayalam
- വടിവ്, അതിർത്തി, അതിർരേഖ, ആകാരം
- contour in Kannada
- ಏರಿಳಿತ, ಉಬ್ಬುತಗ್ಗು, ಬಾಹ್ಯರೇಖೆ, ಹೊರಗೆರೆ
- contour in Punjabi
- ਕੰਟੂਰ, ਕੰਟੂਅਰ, ਕੰਟੂਰ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ
- contour in Gujarati
- સમોચ્ચ, સમોચ્ચ કરવા માટે
- contour in Odia
- ସମୋଚ୍ଚ, କନଟ୍ଯ଼ୁର କରିବା
- contour in Nepali
- समोच्च, कन्टुर, कन्टोर
- contour in Malay
- kontur, garisan kontur
- contour in Vietnamese
- đường viền, đường nét, đường đồng mức
Examples of contour in a sentence
- After the drilling and tapping operations, we come in with a mill and do some contouring.
- I draw contours first, gradually shading in midtones and shadows.
- The actual reading of the text itself is accompanied by certain common paralexical and extratextual features. The paralexical features are the intonational contours and stress patterns given the oral reading.
Synonyms of contour
Forms of contour
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | contours |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | contours |
| present participle | contouring |
| past participle | contoured |
| past | contoured |
Origin of contour
Borrowed from French contour, from contourner, equivalent to con- + tour.
Words formed from contour
- contourable
- contour chase
- contour diaper
- contour feather
- contour gauge
- contour integral
- contour interval
- contourite
- contourless
- contourlet
- contour map
- executive contour
- isocontour
- recontour
Phrases with contour
Questions about contour
- What does contour mean?
- Contour means an outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape.
- What is contour in Hindi?
- Contour in Hindi is समोच्च. See Contour meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is contour?
- Contour can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce contour?
- Contour is pronounced /ˈkɒntɔː/.
- What is the plural of contour?
- The plural of contour is contours.
Words near contour in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: contour (page history and authors); contour (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); contour (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contour (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); contour (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); contour (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contour (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); contour (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contour (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contour (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); contour (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); contour (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); contour (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-contour.ogg.
Cite this entry: “contour.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/contour. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.