contour
21
4.5
- noun
- /ˈkɒntʊr/
:
contorno
- The artist carefully sketched the contour of the mountain range on her canvas.
- melodic contours
- intonation contours
- contour curves
Examples
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In the design meeting, they discussed the contour of the new building to ensure it fit the landscape.
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Notice the contours, strong and well-defined.
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But look at the contour of the thing, right?
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It's so nice see how the contour of her face shows.
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So you get a very nice contour, but not heavy.
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As for the contour, I mean, it's there.
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I'm just doing a very quick kind of contour, nothing major.
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So you see when you smile, the contour goes along with the cheeks.
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So we've got that nice contour, taking that down the neck.
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Look at the contours here.
Synonyms
839
1.3
The visible shape or structure of something
475
1.0
The visible form of a thing or person
79
3.4
A side view showing the shape of something, for example a face or a cross section
65
2.7
A line that shows the outer shape of something
4
7.0
How the parts of something are put together to make its shape
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
1
3.5
A map that shows land height and shape using lines that join places at the same height
- Specialized
1
4.2
A line on a map joining points of equal height above sea level that shows the land's shape
- Specialized
A feather that covers a bird's body and forms its smooth outer shape
- Specialized
A language that uses rising or falling tones within syllables to change word meaning
How Defined
Surface Forms
Etymology
Contour comes from con- 'with' and a root meaning 'to turn', so imagine a line that turns around a shape. That's why a contour is the outline or shape that defines something.