I. ˈkänˌtu̇(ə)r, -tu̇ə noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, modification of Italian contorno, from contornare to surround, sketch in outline, round off, from Latin com- + tornare to turn in a lathe, from tornus lathe — more at turn
1. : the delimitations of a figure:
a. : the drawn or painted outline of a two-dimensional figure
b. : the periphery of a form seen two-dimensionally
the contour of a mountain silhouetted against the sky
c. : shape , form
the contours of a statue
the ominous contours of a ravine
— usually used in plural; used of any irregularly shaped body or uneven surface or curving line
the contours of the shoreline
2. : the individual features or the order or arrangement of features of anything having discernible and usually complex structure — usually used in plural
the contours of a melody
the contours of the plan are beginning to emerge
poetry is a discovery of contours and connections — C.S.Kilby
3.
a. mathematics : a plotted curve : graph
b. : a line or surface at all points of which a certain quantity, otherwise variable, has the same value (as lines of equal elevation on the ground or isothermal surfaces in a heat-conducting solid) : contour line
4. : a sequence of levels of pitch or stress typically extending over several successive words in an utterance
Synonyms: see outline
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to draw or shape the contours of
b. : to shape (a thing) to fit the contours of something else
contour the waist of a jacket
2.
a. : to construct (as a road) in conformity to a contour
b. : to cultivate (land) along lines connecting points of equal elevation
c. : to provide (as a map) with contour lines
intransitive verb
: to draw or plot a contour
III. adjective
1. : following the contour lines or running furrows or ridges along the contour lines to retard erosion of sloping land by runoff rainwater
contour plowing
2. : made to fit the contour of something enclosed or contained
contour sheet