contour map

noun

: a map having contour lines

Illustration of contour map

Illustration of contour map

Examples of contour map in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noise contour maps for 2026 show a wider range of noise impact to the south because the majority of departures take off in that direction. Haeven Gibbons, Dallas News, 24 Mar. 2023 This uplift resulted in a row of harmonic northwest-to-southeast folds, like this — \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ — between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, which on a contour map appear as a bolt of brown corduroy, one that has been wrinkled and whorled by giant fingers. New York Times, 20 Apr. 2022 The radar waves bounced off the rock beneath the ice; returning echoes yielded this contour map of peaks and valleys as well as hundreds of miles of interconnected subglacial lake systems. Discover Magazine, 18 July 2011 In addition to updating the noise contour map, Loudoun County’s proposal would require such disclosures for every home sale, not just the initial sale, anywhere within the district map. Gaya Gupta, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2022 Many locals don’t put much stock in the models Massport uses to create noise contour maps, published in massive reports long after the readings are taken. Chris Berdik, BostonGlobe.com, 15 May 2018 The test tower at the Mirror Lab uses interferometry to create contour maps of the glass surfaces. Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 14 Feb. 2018 The waste near Sand Point looks like hills on contour maps of the seafloor, said Chris Gebhardt, a compliance officer for the EPA. Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Mar. 2018 The system creates a contour map of the glass surface. Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 14 Feb. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of contour map was in 1862

Dictionary Entries Near contour map

Cite this Entry

“Contour map.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contour%20map. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on contour map

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!