streamline

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: stream=line

CIDE DICTIONARY

streamline, a. 

 Of or pert. to a stream line; designating a motion or flow that is free from turbulence, like that of a particle in a streamline; hence, designating a surface, body, etc., that is designed so as to afford an unbroken flow of a fluid about it, esp. when the resistance to flow is the least possible; as, a streamline body for an automobile or airship; -- the current usuage prefers the term streamlined.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

streamline, v. t. 

•  to design or modify so as to present the least possible resistance to fluid flow; -- used mostly of vehicles, such as automobiles, airplanes, or ships.  [PJC]
•  to change so as to make more efficient; -- used especially of organizations, procedures, or methods.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

streamline, v. & n.
--v.tr.
1 give (a vehicle etc.) the form which presents the least resistance to motion.
2 make (an organization, process, etc.) simple or more efficient or better organized.
--n.
1 the natural course of water or air currents.
2 (often attrib.) the shape of an aircraft, car, etc., calculated to cause the least resistance to motion.

THESAURUS

streamline

air line, axis, beeline, boil down, chord, diagonal, diameter, direct line, directrix, distill, edge, great-circle course, modernize, narrow, normal, oversimplify, perpendicular, purify, radius, radius vector, reduce, reduce to elements, refine, right line, secant, segment, shortcut, side, simplify, straight, straight course, straight line, straight stretch, straightaway, strip down, tangent, transversal, update, vector