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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

contour.

An outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkɒntɔː//ˈkɒntʊə//ˈkɑntɔɹ//ˈkɑntʊɚ/
  1. An outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape.

    the low drag contour of a modern automobile
  2. 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.

  3. a speech sound which behaves as a single segment, but which makes an internal transition from one quality, place, or manner to another.

  4. A general description giving the most important points.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from French contour, from contourner, equivalent to con- + tour.

verb/ˈkɒntɔː//ˈkɒntʊə//ˈkɑntɔɹ//ˈkɑntʊɚ/
  1. To form a more or less curved boundary or border upon.

    transitive
  2. To mark with contour lines.

    transitive
  3. To practise the makeup technique of contouring.

    intransitive
  4. To shape conditions regarding salient points.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from French contour, from contourner, equivalent to con- + tour.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.