A contour line is typically narrow and continuous, and it may vary in width to create the illusion of some parts being closer to the viewer. It marks the edge of an object or shows the border between objects in an image. Contour lines may also be used to show smaller shapes within larger ones. For example, individual facial features may be drawn in contour within a larger contour drawing of a person's head or figure.
(source)This definition does an adequate job of describing a contour line - however, with our drawings, we want to be a bit more specific.
A contour line does indeed follow the edge of border of an object. It "traps in" the space, to create the idea that an object is contained within those lines. However, the object being defined should not cease there - we want to be proficient as well as efficient with line.
This means being able to create lines that strongly indicate the shape, volume, and surface of a form with the minimum but essential amount of lines needed to accomplish that.
A good contour line drawing can be loose, it can be continuous, it can be gestural, it can be precise, it can be anything so long as it creates a reasonable feeling of the visual understanding of that object's qualities.
So practice!
Examples of contour line drawings, as I would like to see them from you all:
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