"Outline" can be different from summarise also in that it has the sense of a plan or a structure. Before you write an essay or long piece of writing it's a good idea to do an outline. Say I am writing an essay about the history of Australia. This might be my outline. Introduction Paragraph 1 - geographical background and ancient megafauna Paragraph 2 - Indigenous histroy pre-European settlement Paragraph 3 - European contact pre-1788 Paragraph 4 - 1788 settlement Conclusion Then I would write the essay based on this outline. That is "outline" as a noun but the verb can have a similar meaning of describing a structure.

As a verb it can mean to give the general structure of something that is rather complicated or detailed. The president outlined the main points of his plan. (He didn't give the details.) The speaker outlined the major events that led to World War II.

" outline " means to " speak short " or to " summarize " , so as an example you can say.." this book is too big, it needs to be outlined, can you outline it for me please ? "

I'd guess that the emphasis is in summary of parts or points: this may or may not mean explaining the structure.