contouring

contouring is the present participle and gerund of contour.

Noun

contouring (countable and uncountable, plural contourings)

the construction of contour lines through a matrix of points each having a known value of some variable
a technique in makeup using blush and bronzing powder to define contours on the face
- Contouring is not our thing because the main beauty philosophy in France is to accept who you are.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
the building up of muscles with exercise
walking along contour lines, usually to save energy or simplify navigation
- If you are going to be walking in mountainous or rough terrain it is often a good idea to plan a route following contour lines. This is called ‘contouring’.2020 July 2 (last accessed), “Advanced guide to reading contours and relief”, in Map reading, Ordnance Survey

contour (third-person singular simple present contours, present participle contouring, simple past and past participle contoured)

(transitive) To form a more or less curved boundary or border upon.
(transitive) To mark with contour lines.
(intransitive) 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
(figuratively) 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

plural	contourings

What does contouring mean?: Contouring means the construction of contour lines through a matrix of points each having a known value of some variable.
What is contouring the present participle and gerund of?: Contouring is the present participle and gerund of contour.
What part of speech is contouring?: Contouring is a noun.
What is the plural of contouring?: The plural of contouring is contourings.

Adapted from Wiktionary: contouring (page history and authors); contour (page history and authors). 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: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “contouring.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/contouring. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.