English Explanatory Dictionary

form

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. To do with shape.
  2. The shape or visible structure of a thing or person.
  3. A thing that gives shape to other things as in a mold.
  4. Regularity, beauty, or elegance.
  5. The inherent nature of an object; that which the mind itself contributes as the condition of knowing; that in which the essence of a thing consists.
  6. Characteristics not involving atomic components.
  7. A long bench with no back.
  8. The boundary line of a material object. In painting, more generally, the human body.
  9. The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid.
  10. To do with structure or procedure.
  11. An order of doing things, as in religious ritual.
  12. Established method of expression or practice; fixed way of proceeding; conventional or stated scheme; formula.
verb
  1. To assume (a certain shape or visible structure).
  2. To give (a shape or visible structure) to a thing or person.
  3. To take shape.
  4. To put together or bring into being; assemble.
  5. To create (a word) by inflection or derivation.
  6. To constitute, to compose, to make up.
  7. To mould or model by instruction or discipline.
  8. To provide (a hare) with a form.
  9. To treat (plates) to prepare them for introduction into a storage battery, causing one plate to be composed more or less of spongy lead, and the other of lead peroxide. This was formerly done by repeated slow alternations of the charging current, but later the plates or grids were coated or filled, one with a paste of red lead and the other with litharge, introduced into the cell, and formed by a direct charging current.
noun
  1. Acronym of family, occupation, recreation, motivation, a set of potential topics of conversation for use by salespeople etc.

Pronunciation

fôrm /fɔːm/ /fɔɹm/ [fo̞ɹm] /fo(ː)ɹm/ en-us-form.ogg

Word forms

form forms forme forming formed no-table-tags glossary formest formedst formeth

Etymology

From Middle English forme (“shape, figure, manner, bench, frame, seat, condition, agreement, etc.”), borrowed from Old French forme, from Latin fōrma (“shape, figure, image, outline, plan, mold, frame, case, etc., manner, sort, kind, etc.”). In sense "division grouping school students" (now dated), derived from public school nomenclature later adopted by state schools. It is sometimes said to be from the sense of "bench", where students of certain ages would sit together, though this is disputed, or alternatively from the sense of "established method of expression or practice".

Synonyms

makeup f. figure shape cast cookie cutter mold pattern configuration grade formular transmogrify take shape make up forshape form turn beshape take form compose

Antonyms

deform distort disfigure misshape wrest buckle contort twist warp writhe

Related words

formal formula formulaic formulate formulation inform format formation

Derived words

ABA form absolute form algebraic normal form alloform antiform apoform application form arc-form pearly mussel argument form argument-form art form attack is the best form of defence attack is the best form of defense back-form Backus-Naur form Backus normal form bad form base form basic form beamform bedform best form lens bilinear form bioform book form bound form Boyce-Codd normal form breast form by-form byform canonical conjunctive normal form canonical disjunctive normal form canonical form Carlson symmetric form citation form claim form clausal normal form closed form closing form cloudform collateral form column echelon form combining form conjunctive normal form count form crudeform crude form cusp form cytoform dictionary form differential form disjunctive normal form dress form echelon form e-form eigenform expanded form extensive form game Extraordinary Form fifth normal form
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