figure vs outline

figure

noun
  • A shape. 

  • A visible pattern as in wood or cloth. 

  • A number, an amount. 

  • A drawing or diagram conveying information. 

  • A human figure, which dress or corset must fit to; the shape of a human body. 

  • A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a motif; a florid embellishment. 

  • The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term. 

  • A figure of speech. 

  • The appearance or impression made by the conduct or career of a person. 

  • A person or thing representing a certain consciousness. 

  • A numeral. 

  • A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the astrological houses. 

  • Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a group of chords, which produce a single complete and distinct impression. 

  • The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting, modelling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a representation of the human body. 

  • Any complex dance moveᵂ. 

verb
  • To represent by a metaphor; to signify or symbolize. 

  • To write over or under the bass, as figures or other characters, in order to indicate the accompanying chords. 

  • To calculate, to solve a mathematical problem. 

  • To enter into; to be a part of. 

  • To think, to assume, to suppose, to reckon. 

  • To embellish with design; to adorn with figures. 

  • To embellish. 

  • To come to understand. 

  • To be reasonable. 

outline

noun
  • The outer shape of an object or figure. 

  • A line marking the boundary of an object figure. 

  • A prose telling of a story intended to be turned into a screenplay; generally longer and more detailed than a treatment. 

  • A sketch or drawing in which objects are delineated in contours without shading. 

  • A general description of some subject. 

  • A preliminary plan for a project. 

  • A statement summarizing the important points of a text. 

  • A setline or trotline. 

verb
  • To optimize for size by replacing repeated code fragments with function calls. 

  • To draw an outline of. 

  • To summarize. 

How often have the words figure and outline occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )