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Form

//fɔːm// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
To do with shape.; The shape or visible structure of a thing or person. countable, physical, uncountable
"Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it."
2
Acronym of family, occupation, recreation, motivation, a set of potential topics of conversation for use by salespeople etc. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
3
the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance wordnet
4
To do with shape.; A thing that gives shape to other things as in a mold. countable, physical, uncountable
5
a mold for setting concrete wordnet

Show 38 more definitions

6
To do with shape.; Regularity, beauty, or elegance. countable, physical, uncountable
7
a life-size dummy used to display clothes wordnet
8
To do with shape.; 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. countable, physical, uncountable
9
the visual appearance of something or someone wordnet
10
To do with shape.; Characteristics not involving atomic components. countable, physical, uncountable
11
a particular mode in which something is manifested wordnet
12
To do with shape.; A long bench with no back. countable, dated, physical, uncountable
"And there with syr Launcelot wrapped his mantel aboute his arme wel and surely and by thenne they had geten a grete fourme oute of the halle and there with all they rasshed at the dore […]."
13
any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline) wordnet
14
To do with shape.; The boundary line of a material object. In painting, more generally, the human body. countable, physical, uncountable
15
an ability to perform well wordnet
16
To do with shape.; The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid. countable, physical, uncountable
17
alternative names for the body of a human being wordnet
18
To do with structure or procedure.; An order of doing things, as in religious ritual. countable, uncountable
19
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality wordnet
20
To do with structure or procedure.; Established method of expression or practice; fixed way of proceeding; conventional or stated scheme; formula. countable, uncountable
"Those whom form of laws Condemned to die."
21
a perceptual structure wordnet
22
To do with structure or procedure.; Constitution; mode of construction, organization, etc.; system. countable, uncountable
"a republican form of government"
23
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something wordnet
24
To do with structure or procedure.; Show without substance; empty, outside appearance; vain, trivial, or conventional ceremony; conventionality; formality. countable, uncountable
"a matter of mere form"
25
a printed document with spaces in which to write wordnet
26
To do with structure or procedure.; A class or rank in society. archaic, countable, uncountable
"ladies of a high form"
27
an arrangement of the elements in a composition or discourse wordnet
28
To do with structure or procedure.; Past history (in a given area); a habit of doing something. UK, countable, uncountable
"It's fair to say she has form on this: she has criticised David Cameron's proposal to create all-women shortlists for prospective MPs, tried to ban women wearing high heels at work as the resulting pain made them take time off work, and tried to reduce the point at which an abortion can take place from 24 to 21 weeks."
29
(biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups wordnet
30
To do with structure or procedure.; Level of performance. countable, uncountable
"The team's form has been poor this year."
31
a body of students who are taught together wordnet
32
To do with structure or procedure.; A class or year of school pupils. UK, countable, uncountable
33
(physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary wordnet
34
To do with structure or procedure.; A numbered division grouping school students (usually every two years) in education between Years 1 and 13 (often preceded by an ordinal number to specify the form, as in sixth form). UK, countable, dated, uncountable
"Nathaniel: Maister, there is nobody to teach in the sixth form. Maister: What a thing is this? N: He is sick in bed. M: How do you know? N: One of the scholars in his house told me so."
35
A blank document or template to be filled in by the user. countable, uncountable
"To apply for the position, complete the application form."
36
A specimen document to be copied or imitated. countable, uncountable
37
A grouping of words which maintain grammatical context in different usages; the particular shape or structure of a word or part of speech. countable, uncountable
"participial forms; verb forms"
38
The den or home of a hare. countable, uncountable
"Being one day a hunting, I found a Hare sitting in her forme[…]."
39
A window or dialogue box. countable, uncountable
"While it is quite amazing how much one can do with Visual Basic with the code attached to a single form, to take full advantage of VB you'll need to start using multiple forms and having the code on all the forms in your project interact."
40
An infraspecific rank. countable, uncountable
41
The type or other matter from which an impression is to be taken, arranged and secured in a chase. countable, dated, uncountable
"And the form is inked, the paper is applied, the bed is slid, and the platen is levered down and the proof is printed."
42
A quantic. countable, uncountable
43
A specific way of performing a movement. countable, uncountable

Verb

1
To assume (a certain shape or visible structure). transitive
"When you kids form a straight line I'll hand out the lollies."
2
give shape or form to wordnet
3
To give (a shape or visible structure) to a thing or person. transitive
"Roll out the dough to form a thin sheet."
4
assume a form or shape wordnet
5
To take shape. intransitive
"When icicles start to form on the eaves you know the roads will be icy."

Show 11 more definitions

6
make something, usually for a specific function wordnet
7
To put together or bring into being; assemble.
"The socialists did not have enough MPs to form a government."
8
establish or impress firmly in the mind wordnet
9
To create (a word) by inflection or derivation. transitive
"By adding "-ness", you can form a noun from an adjective."
10
create (as an entity) wordnet
11
To constitute, to compose, to make up. transitive
"Teenagers form the bulk of extreme traffic offenders."
12
to compose or represent wordnet
13
To mould or model by instruction or discipline.
"Singing in a choir helps to form a child's sociality."
14
develop into a distinctive entity wordnet
15
To provide (a hare) with a form.
"The melancholy hare is formed in brakes and briers."
16
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. historical, transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

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".

Etymology 2

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