Shaping
noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The action of the verb to shape.
"In contrast to the (to be sure, productive) shapings and constrainings of human identities in the sociotechnical network, here we have an expansion of identity."
- 2 the act of fabricating something in a particular shape wordnet
- 3 The action of the verb to shape.; A method of positive reinforcement of behaviour patterns in a series of steps in operant conditioning.
"In general, it's a good idea to know ahead of time what your shaping steps will be and try to get 80% to 100% correct trials during the shaping steps and repeat each step for only 5 to 10 trials in a row."
- 4 any process serving to define the shape of something wordnet
- 5 The action of the verb to shape.; The action of the metal-cutting machine called a shaper, which uses linear single-point cutting. It is largely but not entirely obsolete.
- 1 present participle and gerund of shape form-of, gerund, participle, present
- 1 forming or capable of forming or molding or fashioning wordnet
Example
More examples"Culture plays a dynamic role in shaping an individual's character, attitude, and outlook on life."
Etymology
From Middle English schapynge, equivalent to shape + -ing.
From Middle English shapinge, shapende, schapende, schappande, from Old English sċyppende, sċeppende, from Proto-West Germanic *skappjandī, from Proto-Germanic *skapjandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *skapjaną (“to form, shape, create”), equivalent to shape + -ing.
Related phrases
More for "shaping"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.