form
UK/fɔːm//fɔɹm/
form noun: the shape or visible structure of a thing or person.
Noun (1)
form (countable and uncountable, plural forms)
- The shape or visible structure of a thing or person.
- 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.1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations
- The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom.[…]Roaring, leaping, pouncing, the tempest raged about the wanderers, drowning and blotting out their forms with sandy spume.1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid
- A thing that gives shape to other things as in a mold.
- Synonyms:
- cast, cookie cutter, mold, pattern
- Regularity, beauty, or elegance.
- 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.
- Characteristics not involving atomic components.
- A long bench with no back.
- 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 […].1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur Book XX, Chapter iv, leaf 401v
- In the hall. One large table, with frame. 10s. ij cobbordes 8s. j fourme, j chaire, and j kenninge measure, 12d.1585–1586 January 18, chapter LXIII, in [William Greenwell], editor, Wills and Inventories from the Registry at Durham. Part II (The Publications of the Surtees Society; XXXVIII), Durham: George...
- The boundary line of a material object. In painting, more generally, the human body.
- The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid.
- An order of doing things, as in religious ritual.
- Established method of expression or practice; fixed way of proceeding; conventional or stated scheme; formula.
- Those whom form of laws
Condemned to die.1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC - [H]e sprang into the road, without previously going through the empty form of advising the driver of his intention, to pick [his hat] up.1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle
- Those whom form of laws
- Constitution; mode of construction, organization, etc.; system.
- a republican form of government
- Synonyms:
- configuration
- Show without substance; empty, outside appearance; vain, trivial, or conventional ceremony; conventionality; formality.
- a matter of mere form
- Though well we may not pass upon his life
Without the form of justice.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
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- A class or rank in society.
- ladies of a high forma. 1716 (date written), [Gilbert] Burnet, edited by [Gilbert Burnet Jr.], Bishop Burnet’s History of His Own Time. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Thomas Ward […], published...
- Past history (in a given area); a habit of doing something.
- 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...2011 May 4, Jane Martinson, The Guardian
- As for the notion that it’s not how Sunak would have won, that doesn’t mean a whole lot coming from a guy whose recent form includes losing to Liz Truss.2023 July 4, Marina Hyde, “Who’s for political Bazball with Rishi? Voters? Tories? Anyone?”, in The Guardian
- Level of performance.
- The team's form has been poor this year.
- The orchestra was on top form this evening.
- Synonyms:
- grade
- A class or year of school pupils.
- 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).
- 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.1653, Corderius, Colloquia scholastica Anglo-Latina, […] 1653, page 220 - I am a very weak, insufficient scholar, sitting on the lowest form in Thy great school-house, which is the whole world, and trying to spell out the mere letters of Thy alphabet […]1880, Charles Kingsley, Out of the Deep: Words for the Sorrowful, London: Macmillan & Co., page 190
- Nathaniel: Maister, there is nobody to teach in the sixth form.
- A blank document or template to be filled in by the user.
- To apply for the position, complete the application form.
- Synonyms:
- formular
- A specimen document to be copied or imitated.
- A grouping of words which maintain grammatical context in different usages; the particular shape or structure of a word or part of speech.
- participial forms; verb forms
- The den or home of a hare.
- Being one day a hunting, I found a Hare sitting in her forme[…].1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 29, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
- The Egyptians therefore in their hieroglyphics expressed a melancholy man by a hare sitting in her form, as being a most timorous and solitary creature., I.iii.1.2
- A window or dialogue box.
- 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.1998, Gary Cornell, Visual Basic 6 from the ground up, page 426
- Throughout this chapter we will work with a form in a new project.2010, Neil Smyth, C# Essentials
- An infraspecific rank.
- The type or other matter from which an impression is to be taken, arranged and secured in a chase.
- And the form is inked, the paper is applied, the bed is slid, and the platen is levered down and the proof is printed.2010, Andrea Levy, The Long Song, Tinder Press (2017), page 382
- A quantic.
- A specific way of performing a movement.
Verb
form (third-person singular simple present forms, present participle forming, simple past and past participle formed)
- To assume (a certain shape or visible structure).
- When you kids form a straight line I'll hand out the lollies.
- Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.2013 May–June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7
- To give (a shape or visible structure) to a thing or person.
- Roll out the dough to form a thin sheet.
- To take shape.
- When icicles start to form on the eaves you know the roads will be icy.
- As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol...2013 July–August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist
- Synonyms:
- take form
- To put together or bring into being; assemble.
- The socialists did not have enough MPs to form a government.
- Paul McCartney and John Lennon formed The Beatles in Liverpool in 1960.
- To create (a word) by inflection or derivation.
- By adding "-ness", you can form a noun from an adjective.
- To constitute, to compose, to make up.
- Teenagers form the bulk of extreme traffic offenders.
- the diplomatic politicians[…]who formed by far the majority1795–1797, Edmund Burke, “(please specify |letter=1 to 4)”, in [Letters on a Regicide Peace], London: [Rivington]
- Synonyms:
- compose
- To mould or model by instruction or discipline.
- Singing in a choir helps to form a child's sociality.
- 'Tis education forms the common mind.1731–1735, Alexander Pope, Moral Essays
- To provide (a hare) with a form.
- The melancholy hare is formed in brakes and briers.1612, Michael Drayton, chapter 2, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great...
- This is the time that the horseman are flung out, not having the cry to lead them to the death. When quadruped animals of the venery or hunting kind are at rest, the stag is said to be harboured, the buck lodged, the fox kennelled, the badger earthed, the otter vented or watched, the hare formed...1819, John Mayer, The Sportsman's Directory, or Park and Gamekeeper's Companion
- 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 (2) capitalized: FORM
FORM (uncountable)
- Acronym of family, occupation, recreation, motivation, a set of potential topics of conversation for use by salespeople etc.
form meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
form in Hindi
- shape or visible structure
- आकार ākār, शक्ल śakla, रूप rūp
- document to be filled in
- अर्ज़ी arzī, फारम phāram
form in Tamil
- படிவம்
form in Marathi
- फॉर्म
form in Urdu
- shape or visible structure
- شَکْل śakl, آکار ākār, رُوپ rūp
- document to be filled in
- عَرْضی 'arzī
More languagesFewer languages
- form in Bengali
- রূপ rup, অবয়ব oboẏob, সুরত śurot, ফর্ম phormo
- form in Telugu
- రూపం, రూపము
- form in Malayalam
- രൂപം, ഫോം
- form in Kannada
- ರೂಪ, ಫಾರ್ಮ್
- form in Punjabi
- ਫਾਰਮ, ਰੂਪ
- form in Gujarati
- ફોર્મ, સ્વરૂપ
- form in Odia
- ଫର୍ମ, ଫର୍ମ |
- form in Sanskrit
- रूप rūpa
- form in Nepali
- रूप rūp, आकृति ākr̥ti
- form in Tagalog
- anyo, hubog, itsura
- form in Arabic
- صُورَة ṣūra, شَكْل šakl, اِسْتِمَارَة istimāra, شَكَّلَ šakkala
- form in Malay
- bentuk, borang
- form in Indonesian
- formulir, borang
- form in Persian
- شکل دادن šekl dâdan, شکل گرفتن šekl gereftan
- form in Thai
- รูปร่าง rûup-râang, รูป rûup, แบบฟอร์ม bɛ̀ɛp-fɔɔm
- form in Vietnamese
- hình, hình thể, hình dạng, hình dáng
Examples of form in a sentence
- As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast.2013 May 10, Audrey Garric, “Urban canopies let nature bloom”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 22, page 30:
- I can see the old schoolroom yet: the broken-down desks and the worn-out forms with knots in that got stuck into your backside[…].1981, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 10:
- From the sixth form will come the scholars and the administrators.1976, Ronald King, School and college: studies of post-sixteen education:
- Hares left their snug ‘forms’ in the cold grass.1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 275:
Synonyms of form
9 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of form
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | forms |
| alternative form | forme |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | forms |
| present participle | forming |
| past participle | formed |
| past | formed |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | formest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | formedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | formeth |
Origin of form
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".
Words formed from form
- 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
- byform
- by-form
- 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
- crude form
- crudeform
- 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
Phrases with form
- T form
- V form
- in form
- on form
- 6th form
- had form
- has form
- pet form
- web form
- form book
- form feed
- form room
106 more phrasesFewer phrases
- form taxa
- free form
- good form
- have form
- life form
- poor form
- rise form
- take form
- took form
- verb form
- word form
- form books
- form class
- form feeds
- form genus
- form rooms
- form taxon
- leuco form
- logic form
- order form
- point form
- prime form
- short form
- sixth form
- taken form
- takes form
- form factor
- form genera
- form letter
- form setter
- growth form
- having form
- linear form
- normal form
- out of form
- racing form
- sonata form
- splice form
- taking form
- vertex form
- form classes
- form factors
- form filling
- form letters
- form setters
- in full form
- in rare form
- Killing form
- logical form
- modular form
- on rare form
- ternary form
- true to form
- form constant
- Legendre form
- ordinary form
- printing form
- standard form
- form criticism
- midseason form
- quadratic form
- return to form
- form criticisms
- form of address
- hesitation form
- mid season form
- mid-season form
- polynomial form
- returns to form
- underlying form
- best form lenses
- multilinear form
- normal form game
- returned to form
- row echelon form
- first normal form
- Girard form class
- normal form games
- returning to form
- third normal form
- form of government
- fourth normal form
- prenex normal form
- second normal form
- sixth form college
- Chomsky Normal Form
- Girard form classes
- sixth form colleges
- sonata-allegro form
- extensive form games
- in any shape or form
- ring sum normal form
- Sturm-Liouville form
- first fundamental form
- in no way, shape or form
- reduced row echelon form
- in any way, shape or form
- in anyway, shape, or form
- in no way, shape, or form
- in any way, shape, or form
- lupoid form of groin ulceration
- turn something into an art form
- turns something into an art form
- turned something into an art form
- turning something into an art form
- imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Words that rhyme with form
9 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about form
- What does form mean?
- Form means the shape or visible structure of a thing or person.
- What is form in Hindi?
- Form in Hindi is आकार (ākār), शक्ल (śakla), रूप (rūp). See Form meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use form in a sentence?
- As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast.
- What part of speech is form?
- Form can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce form?
- Form is pronounced /fɔːm/ (UK).
- What is the plural of form?
- The plural of form is forms.
Words near form in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: form (page history and authors); FORM (page history and authors); form (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); form (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); form (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); form (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); form (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); form (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); form (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); form (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-form.ogg.
Cite this entry: “form.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/form. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.