Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use outline in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Outline means a line marking the boundary of an object figure. Example: “Wikipedia items featuring books usually outline them after giving their background.”

Examples of outline by meaning

nounThe outer shape of an object or figure.

  • From this point of vantage, we were able to gain an impression of the massive outlines of the main structure, and its intricate maze of girders.1950 March, H. A. Vallance, “On Foot Across the Forth Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 149

nounA preliminary plan for a project.

  • the outline of a speech

verbTo draw an outline of; to describe.

  • They dated from the previous century and were coarsely printed on tinted paper, with tinsel outlining the design.1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC

verbTo summarize.

  • Wikipedia items featuring books usually outline them after giving their background.
  • At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC

More sentences with outline

  • He carefully traced the outlines of the old building before him.From the entry trace
  • He's garbled the details, but the outline of the story is still pretty clear.From the entry garble
  • The outcomes of this course are outlined in your syllabus.From the entry outcome
  • They have stringent quality requirements outlining what is acceptable.From the entry stringent
  • All of his books converge on the same outline.From the entry converge
  • This essay is a good one in that it comprehensively outlines all the major arguments on this issue.From the entry in that
  • In the safety alert, the NTSB educates parents on the risks and outlines what they can do to protect their teens against marijuana-impaired driving.From the entry teen
  • The document outlined his asserted rights.From the entry asserted
  • Owing to their coarsely drawn, unyielding masculine outlines, Wojaks are especially compatible with efforts to channel aggression.2021, Jeffrey Demsky, Nazi and Holocaust Representations in Anglo-American Popular Culture, 1945–2020, page 112. From the entry wojak
  • Good Iznik has strong colours well-contained within their outlines and a very clean, clear white.2018 April 14, “8 things to know about İznik pottery”, in Christie's. From the entry bole
  • It is shown, in outline, how the results can be extended from groups to groupoids..2015, Christopher Townsend, “Stability of properties of locales under groups”, in arXiv. From the entry exponentiable
  • In the large neglected garden, formal paths outlined with white stones were overgrown with bunny-grass.2014, Ailsa Fabian, A Shining Space: A Daughter's Life, →ISBN, page 93. From the entry bunny grass
  • Ezekiel outlines the harlotry of Judah followed by a thirty-two-fold judgment.2013, Jerome Strong, Spiritual Musings II: Sermons, Musings & Exegesis. From the entry -fold
  • These lines, GH and PC, are cut when the outline of the upper is cut out.2012, Reginald Laubin, Gladys Laubin, The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use. From the entry upper
  • A pair of grey, flannel track pants outlined the lad′s bottom very nicely indeed.2011, Ken Smith, Run Naked, Run Free, page 66. From the entry track pants
  • Bhaskar’s levels of rationality outline the types of knowledge which are necessary for the possibility of emancipation.2010 July 20, Brad Shipway, A Critical Realist Perspective of Education, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 104. From the entry dialecticalisation
  • Place the cardboard shape created on a piece of artpaper and trace its outline with a pencil.2009, Joash Moo, Frank Lee, Art in Life Lower Secondary, →ISBN, page 45. From the entry artpaper
  • The ribs outline is similar, also if the occurrence of proverse ribs seems more frequent.2008, Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia E Stratigrafia, volume 114, page 404. From the entry proverse
  • The basalt was also piled to outline large squares in the ceremonial centres known as heiaus.2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 52. From the entry heiau
  • The faint outlines were interpreted to be six Zeros and two other Mitsubishis.2003, A. Robert Hill, Stars of the Southern Cross, →ISBN, page 123. From the entry Mitsubishi
  • He extended his finger and outlined the shape of the chair.2003, Ann Packer, chapter 18, in The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Contemporaries, →ISBN, page 177. From the entry chairness
  • The dark outline of the duomo was just visible as it blocked one end of Cocomero Street.1998-2003, Rhea Galanaki, Eleni, or, Nobody, Northwestern University Press, page 77. From the entry overexcessive
  • All the talk and analysis was intended to outline the parameters of our instincts."1997 October 29, James R. Oestreich, “Juilliard Quartet's Musical Chairs; Sounding Board for the New, Strings Attached to the Old”, in The…. From the entry call an audible
  • Specifically, it outlines by country, some of the smart card systems in operation throughout the world.1995, Exploring the World of Cyberpayments: An Introductory Survey, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, U.S. Department of the Treasury. From the entry cyberpayment
  • One possibility of doing this is the use of mixed Poisson distributions (outlined above).1993, Rolf-Dieter Reiss, A Course on Point Processes, Springer, page 62. From the entry Poisson distribution
  • Arches above the windows outlined with double courses of raised scrollwork headmolds, edged in gold.1993, Retta Lou Weber, Gayle Weber Strange, Lively stones: a history of the people who built First Presbyterian Church, Galveston, Texas…. From the entry headmold
  • Figure 19.4 outlines the steps in the production of dried nonfat milk showing the MCCPs and QCCPs.1984, T. P. LaBuza, John W. Erdman, Food science and nutritional health: an introduction, page 318. From the entry instantize
  • Only Holmberg seemed to dig deeply within himself to create a complete character from Morris' skeletal outline.1983 August 20, Penny Landau, “The Reality Around Us: Two Gay Plays”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 6, page 17. From the entry skeletal
  • He tilted the glass slightly now, the surface of the liquid assuming an elongate outline.1976, Don DeLillo, chapter 3, in Ratner’s Star (A Borzoi Book), New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →ISBN, page 46. From the entry elongate
  • The cars, which are of pleasing but somewhat squarish outline, are unstreamlined.1963 August, W. Shepherd, “Stockholm's modern underground railway”, in Modern Railways, page 96. From the entry squarish
  • Her features had been crudely handsome, too, like Millie's, but booze had splodged their outlines.1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 159. From the entry crudely
  • There is the rhythmically beating heart, distinctly pulsating in perfect outline.1913 August, Arthur B[enjamin] Reeve, “The X-Ray ‘Movies’”, in The Dream Doctor (The Craig Kennedy Series), New York, N.Y.; London: Harper…. From the entry visceral
  • It is usually an outline drawing, very plain and free from ornamentation.1905, Alpha Pierce Jamison, Elements of Mechanical Drawing: Their Application and a Course in Mechanical Drawing for Engineering Students…. From the entry shop drawing
  • To include at least reading, writing, arithmetic, outlines of history and geography, and lessons on natural objects.1904, Cape of Good Hope C.S. List, section 267. From the entry public school
  • Think of pseudocode as a step-by-step verbal outline of your code that you can later transcribe into a programming language.2026 May 21 (last accessed), Nels Frazier, “How to Write Pseudocode”, in University of Wyoming, archived from the original on 21 May 2026…. From the entry pseudocode

Meaning of outline

  1. noun A line marking the boundary of an object figure.
  2. noun The outer shape of an object or figure.
  3. noun A sketch or drawing in which objects are delineated in contours without shading.

Full definition of outline

Questions about outline in a sentence

How do you use outline in a sentence?
Outline is used as a noun and verb. For example: “Wikipedia items featuring books usually outline them after giving their background.”
What is a short sentence with outline?
“the outline of a speech”
What does outline mean?
Outline means a line marking the boundary of an object figure.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: outline (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “How to use outline in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/outline. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.