Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use shape in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Shape means the status or condition of something. Example: “The used bookshop wouldn’t offer much due to the poor shape of the book.”

Examples of shape by meaning

nounThe status or condition of something.

  • The used bookshop wouldn’t offer much due to the poor shape of the book.

nounCondition of personal health, especially muscular health.

  • The vet checked to see what kind of shape the animal was in.
  • We exercise to keep in good physical shape.

nounA graphical representation of an object's form or its external boundary, outline, or external surface.

  • What shape shall we use for the cookies? Stars, circles, or diamonds?

nounForm; formation.

  • Your head is a funny shape, rather oblong.
  • What if God's plans and actions do mold the shape of human events?2006, Berdj Kenadjian, Martin Zakarian, From Darkness to Light
  • On the basis of this we may conclude that ispéli is likely the original shape of this word.2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 356

nounA mould for making blancmange, jelly, etc., or a piece of such food formed moulded into a particular shape.

  • And there is a little rhubarb and shape.1918 March, Rebecca West [pseudonym; Cicily Isabel Fairfield], chapter IV, in The Return of the Soldier, 1st American edition, New York...
  • It was brawn and shape for high tea.1978, Jane Gardam, God on the Rocks, Abacus, published 2014, page 111

nounA loaded die.

  • A top cheater seldom ever uses shapes or loaded dice because they do not assure you of winning.1961, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Gambling and Organized...

verbTo create or make.

  • Earth was shapen by God for God's folk.

verbTo give something a shape and definition.

  • Shape the dough into a pretzel. For my art project, I plan to shape my clay lump into a bowl.
  • Its future, however, is being shaped in converted warehouses and funky offices in San Francisco, New York and London, where bright young things in jeans and T-shirts huddle around laptops, sipping lattes or munching on free food.2013 August 3, “Revenge of the nerds”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847

More sentences with shape

  • The bumpers and front tyres were ruined, but the body of the car was in remarkable shape.From the entry body
  • The shape of the nozzle prevents the use of aftermarket eartips.From the entry nozzle
  • Hey, don't get bent out of shape over it; I was just funning you.From the entry fun
  • I blocked the mittens by wetting them and pinning them to a shaped piece of cardboard.From the entry block
  • The shelves were lined with pottery of all shapes and sizes.From the entry pottery
  • A gown should be gathered around the top so that it will remain shaped.From the entry gather
  • If you want to emphasise the shape, it is possible to gather the waistline.From the entry gather
  • The fog has vanished and it's shaping up to be a beautiful day.From the entry shape up
  • I guess I'd better get my room in shape if I have guests.From the entry in shape
  • The rum-based mixed drink came with a swizzle stick shaped like a pirate's sword.From the entry swizzle stick
  • The shaped sides of the wardrobe give it a more attractive appearance.From the entry shaped
  • The moth's antennae were pectinate in shape, set with long teeth along one edge only.From the entry pectinate
  • After two hours of discussion, our plans began to take shape.From the entry take shape
  • They stopped inviting him to the gatherings, and he really got bent out of shape about it.From the entry get bent out of shape
  • Due to the unusual shape of these PCBs, depanelization takes a long time.From the entry depanelization
  • The children's slide had a spirally helicine shape I had never seen before.From the entry helicine
  • The plesiohedra include such well-known shapes as the cube, hexagonal prism, rhombic dodecahedron, and truncated octahedron.From the entry plesiohedron
  • During the off-season, I play ball hockey to stay in shape.From the entry ball hockey
  • The Great Vowel Shift was the main sound shift shaping modern English.From the entry sound shift
  • The garment's durability is enhanced by using a locknit, which prevents runs and maintains its shape.From the entry locknit
  • He used pliers to work the wire into shape.From the entry work
  • A luncheonette in the shape of a coffee cup is particularly conspicuous, as is intended of an architectural duck or folly.From the entry duck
  • Southern Italy is shaped like a foot.From the entry foot
  • To make the mainsail fuller in shape, the outhaul is eased to reduce the tension on the foot of the sail.From the entry foot
  • Rough in the shape first, then polish the details.From the entry rough
  • The shapes of clouds will often remind us of animals.From the entry will
  • I patted the cookie dough into shape.From the entry pat

Meaning of shape

  1. noun The status or condition of something.
  2. noun Condition of personal health, especially muscular health.
  3. noun A graphical representation of an object's form or its external boundary, outline, or external surface.

Full definition of shape

Questions about shape in a sentence

How do you use shape in a sentence?
Shape is used as a noun and verb. For example: “The used bookshop wouldn’t offer much due to the poor shape of the book.”
What is a short sentence with shape?
“I patted the cookie dough into shape.”
What does shape mean?
Shape means the status or condition of something.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shape (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use shape in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/shape. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.