1
outline of something
She drew the outline of a cat on the paper.
她在纸上画了一只猫的轮廓。
轮廓；外形
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
轮廓；外形
A line showing the outer edge or shape of an object.
She drew the outline of a cat on the paper.
她在纸上画了一只猫的轮廓。
标记物体图形边界的线条。
A line marking the boundary of an object figure.
界定物体的线条
the line that appears to bound an object
物体或图形的外形。
The outer shape of an object or figure.
对论点或理论要点的简略总结
a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory
The artist drew the outline of a flower.
艺术家画了一朵花的轮廓。
The outline of the building was silhouetted against the sunset.
建筑物的轮廓在日落映衬下呈现出剪影。
She traced the outline of her hand on the paper.
她在纸上描出了她手的轮廓。
She drew the outline of a cat on the paper.
她在纸上画了一只猫的轮廓。
意为‘以概要形式’。
The professor presented the theory in outline.
教授简要地介绍了这一理论。
形容词可替换，如brief、detailed等。
I need a rough outline before I start writing.
我开始写作前需要一个粗略的大纲。
Not this
Can you outline about the main points?
Use this
Can you outline the main points?
outline 作为及物动词，直接跟宾语，不需要介词 about。中文的“概述”常带“关于”，导致学习者误加介词。
Not this
I need outline of the chapter.
Use this
I need an outline of the chapter.
outline 为可数名词，前面需要冠词 a/an 或变为复数 outlines。中文没有冠词，学习者容易遗漏。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
大致轮廓
He gave a broad outline of the proposal.
他给出了提议的大致轮廓。
粗略大纲
I only have a rough outline of the project.
我只有这个项目的粗略大纲。
基本框架
The teacher provided a basic outline for the essay.
老师提供了论文的基本框架。
计划纲要
The outline of a plan was presented to the committee.
计划纲要已提交给委员会。
演讲提纲
She prepared an outline of a speech for the conference.
她为会议准备了演讲提纲。
详细大纲
A detailed outline will help you stay organized.
详细的大纲有助于你保持条理。
Use outline naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
outline = out + line，外面画一条线，就是轮廓。
名词“outline”常指事物的轮廓线条或概要。在学术写作、演讲准备或项目计划中，常用其“纲要”义（如“outline of a speech”），属于中性偏正式的语域。日常口语中也可能使用“轮廓”义（如“outline of a building”），但整体语境偏正式或文书性。
All words end with the same sound /laɪn/ as the second syllable of 'outline' (/'aʊtlaɪn/). They are spelled with '-line' and are genuine rhymes.
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.