What does "shape" mean?
The status or condition of something
Shape
/ʃeɪp/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The status or condition of something
- Grammar: shape is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: form, condition, configuration, contour.
- Useful contrasts: formless, unformed, amorphousness.
- Usage evidence: You're in better shape than I am.
How to use "shape"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shape" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shape" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shape" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shape" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shape" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "form" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shape", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The status or condition of something countable, uncountable
"The used bookshop wouldn’t offer much due to the poor shape of the book."
- 2 the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance wordnet
- 3 Condition of personal health, especially muscular health. countable, uncountable
"The vet checked to see what kind of shape the animal was in."
- 4 the visual appearance of something or someone wordnet
- 5 A graphical representation of an object's form or its external boundary, outline, or external surface. countable, uncountable
"What shape shall we use for the cookies? Stars, circles, or diamonds?"
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline) wordnet
- 7 Form; formation. countable, uncountable
"Your head is a funny shape, rather oblong."
- 8 alternative names for the body of a human being wordnet
- 9 A geometric figure defined by its surfaces, lines, and angles, existing in 2D or 3D countable, uncountable
- 10 a perceptual structure wordnet
- 11 A rolled or hammered piece, such as a bar, beam, angle iron, etc., having a cross section different from merchant bar. countable, uncountable
- 12 a concrete representation of an otherwise nebulous concept wordnet
- 13 A piece which has been roughly forged nearly to the form it will receive when completely forged or fitted. countable, uncountable
- 14 the supreme headquarters that advises NATO on military matters and oversees all aspects of the Allied Command Europe wordnet
- 15 A mould for making blancmange, jelly, etc., or a piece of such food formed moulded into a particular shape. archaic, countable, uncountable
"And if I 'm late for supper there 's a dish of macaroni cheese you must put in the oven and a tin of tomatoes to eat with it. And there is a little rhubarb and shape."
- 16 the state of (good) health (especially in the phrases ‘in condition’ or ‘in shape’ or ‘out of condition’ or ‘out of shape’) wordnet
- 17 A loaded die. countable, uncountable
"A top cheater seldom ever uses shapes or loaded dice because they do not assure you of winning."
- 18 In the Hack programming language, a group of data fields each of which has a name and a data type. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To create or make. Northern-England, Scotland, rare
"Earth was shapen by God for God's folk."
- 2 give shape or form to wordnet
- 3 To give something a shape and definition. transitive
"Shape the dough into a pretzel. For my art project, I plan to shape my clay lump into a bowl."
- 4 shape or influence; give direction to wordnet
- 5 To form or manipulate something into a certain shape.
"Mature the Virgin was of Egypt's Race: / Grace ſhap'd her Limbs; and Beauty deck'd her Face: […]"
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 make something, usually for a specific function wordnet
- 7 To give influence to. person
- 8 To suit; to be adjusted or conformable.
"The more of you 'twas felt, the more it shap'd / Unto my end of stealing them"
- 9 To imagine; to conceive. obsolete
"Oft my jealousy / Shapes faults that are not."
Antonyms
Example
"You're in better shape than I am."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shape"?
Common synonyms include: form, condition, configuration, contour, figure, form.
How do you use "shape" in a sentence?
You're in better shape than I am.
How do you pronounce "shape"?
Pronounced /ʃeɪp/.
Etymology
From Middle English shap, schape, from Old English ġesceap (“shape, form, created being, creature, creation, dispensation, fate, condition, sex, gender, genitalia”), from Proto-West Germanic *ga- + *skap, from Proto-Germanic *ga- + *skapą (“shape, nature, condition”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kep- (“to split, cut”). The verb is from Middle English shapen, schapen, from Old English scieppan (“to shape, form, make, create, assign, arrange, destine, order, adjudge”), from Proto-West Germanic *skappjan, from Proto-Germanic *skapjaną (“to create”), from the noun. The noun is cognate with Middle Dutch schap (“form”), Middle High German geschaf (“creature”), Icelandic skap (“state, condition, temper, mood”). The verb is cognate with Dutch scheppen, German schaffen, Swedish skapa (“create, make”), Norwegian Bokmål skape (“create”). Doublet of -ship.