form

/fɔərm/
/fɔm/
IPA guide

Other forms: formed; forms; forming

The way something (or someone) is shaped or arranged is its form. You might use it to describe the way a person looks walking in the woods at dusk by saying, "Her form was almost lost between the shadowy trees."

Physical objects have a form, and so do less tangible things like music, movies, and stories. When form is used as a verb, it means "to give shape to," as when a filmmaker works to form the narrative of her movie so that it makes sense to the audience.

Definitions of form
  1. noun
    a perceptual structure
    “the composition presents problems for students of musical form”
    synonyms: pattern, shape
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 8 types...
    hide 8 types...
    fractal
    (mathematics) a geometric pattern that is repeated at every scale and so cannot be represented by classical geometry
    gestalt
    a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts
    grid
    a pattern of regularly spaced horizontal and vertical lines
    kaleidoscope
    a complex pattern of constantly changing colors and shapes
    mosaic
    a pattern resembling a mosaic
    strand
    a pattern forming a unity within a larger structural whole
    reference grid
    a pattern of horizontal and vertical lines that provide coordinates for locating points on an image or a map
    Amsler grid
    a pattern of small boxes that is used for self-monitoring by patients who have age-related macular degeneration
    type of:
    structure
    the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations
  2. noun
    a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
    “sculpture is a form of art”
    synonyms: kind, sort, variety
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 23 types...
    hide 23 types...
    description
    sort or variety
    type
    a subdivision of a particular kind of thing
    antitype
    an opposite or contrasting type
    art form
    (architecture) a form of artistic expression (such as writing or painting or architecture)
    style
    a particular kind (as to appearance)
    flavor, flavour
    (physics) the six kinds of quarks
    color, colour
    (physics) the characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction
    species
    a specific kind of something
    genus
    a class of things with common characteristics
    brand, make
    a recognizable kind
    genre
    a kind of literary or artistic work
    ilk, like
    a kind of person
    manner
    a kind
    model
    a type of product
    stripe
    a kind or category
    like, the like, the likes of
    a similar kind
    breed
    a special type
    nature
    a particular type of thing
    edition, variant, variation, version
    something a little different from others of the same type
    architectural style, style of architecture, type of architecture
    architecture as a kind of art form
    charm
    (physics) one of the six flavors of quark
    strangeness
    (physics) one of the six flavors of quark
    sonata form
    a musical form having 3 sections -- exposition and development and recapitulation; characteristic of 1st movement of a sonata or symphony
    type of:
    category
    a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme
  3. noun
    a particular mode in which something is manifested
    “his resentment took the form of extreme hostility”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    fashion, manner, modality, mode, style, way
    how something is done or how it happens
  4. noun
    (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
    synonyms: phase
    see moresee less
    types:
    dispersed particles, dispersed phase
    (of colloids) a substance in the colloidal state
    dispersing medium, dispersing phase, dispersion medium
    (of colloids) a substance in which another is colloidally dispersed
    type of:
    state, state of matter
    (chemistry) the three traditional states of matter are solids (fixed shape and volume) and liquids (fixed volume and shaped by the container) and gases (filling the container)
  5. verb
    create (as an entity)
    “social groups form everywhere”
    “They formed a company”
    synonyms: organise, organize
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 5 types...
    hide 5 types...
    regroup, reorganise, reorganize
    organize anew, as after a setback
    choose up
    form sides, as for a game
    draw up
    form or arrange in order or formation, as of a body of soldiers
    regiment
    form (military personnel) into a regiment
    syndicate
    organize into or form a syndicate
    type of:
    create, make
    make or cause to be or to become
  6. verb
    give shape or form to
    “form the young child's character”
    synonyms: shape
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 34 types...
    hide 34 types...
    individuate
    give individual shape or form to
    tie
    form a knot or bow in
    terrace
    make into terraces as for cultivation
    fork
    shape like a fork
    tabulate
    shape or cut with a flat surface
    dimension
    shape or form to required dimensions
    roll
    shape by rolling
    draw
    flatten, stretch, or mold metal or glass, by rolling or by pulling it through a die or by stretching
    strike
    cause to form (an electric arc) between electrodes of an arc lamp
    crystalise, crystalize, crystallise, crystallize
    cause to take on a definite and clear shape
    twist
    form into twists
    sliver
    form into slivers
    ridge
    form into a ridge
    plume
    form a plume
    round, round off, round out
    make round
    scallop, scollop
    shape or cut in scallops
    square, square up
    make square
    dish
    make concave; shape like a dish
    fit
    make fit
    flatten
    make flat or flatter
    deform, distort, strain
    alter the shape of (something) by stress
    blow
    shape by blowing
    block
    shape into a block or blocks
    block
    shape by using a block
    cup
    form into the shape of a cup
    circle, encircle
    form a circle around
    turn
    shape by rotating on a lathe or cutting device or a wheel
    purse
    contract one's lips into a rounded shape
    steamroll, steamroller
    make level or flat with a steamroller
    splat
    split open and flatten for cooking
    jaundice
    distort adversely
    roll, roll out
    flatten or spread with a heavy device shaped like a cylinder
    laminate
    press or beat (metals) into thin sheets
    dovetail
    fit together tightly, as if by means of a dovetail
    type of:
    alter, change, modify
    cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
  7. verb
    develop into a distinctive entity
    synonyms: spring, take form, take shape
    see moresee less
    types:
    regenerate
    be formed or shaped anew
    type of:
    become
    come into existence
  8. verb
    to compose or represent:"This wall forms the background of the stage setting"
    synonyms: constitute, make
    see moresee less
    types:
    chelate
    form a chelate, in chemistry
    add
    constitute an addition
    type of:
    be, comprise, constitute, make up, represent
    form or compose
  9. verb
    establish or impress firmly in the mind
    synonyms: imprint
    see moresee less
    type of:
    act upon, influence, work
    have and exert influence or effect
  10. noun
    any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
    synonyms: configuration, conformation, contour, shape
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 27 types...
    hide 27 types...
    keenness, sharpness
    thinness of edge or fineness of point
    bluntness, dullness
    without sharpness or clearness of edge or point
    topography
    the configuration of a surface and the relations among its man-made and natural features
    lobularity
    the property of having lobules
    concaveness, concavity
    the property possessed by a concave shape
    convexity, convexness
    the property possessed by a convex shape
    angularity
    the property possessed by a shape that has angles
    narrowing
    an instance of becoming narrow
    curvature, curve
    the property possessed by the curving of a line or surface
    roundness
    the property possessed by a line or surface that is curved and not angular
    straightness
    freedom from crooks or curves or bends or angles
    crookedness
    having or distinguished by crooks or curves or bends or angles
    stratification
    a layered configuration
    acuteness
    the quality of having a sharp edge or point
    obtuseness
    the quality of lacking a sharp edge or point
    hollowness
    the property of having a sunken area
    bulginess, roundedness
    the property possessed by a rounded convexity
    coarctation
    (biology) a narrowing or constriction of a vessel or canal; especially a congenital narrowing of the aorta
    taper
    the property possessed by a shape that narrows toward a point (as a wedge or cone)
    oblongness, rectangularity
    the property of being shaped like a rectangle
    triangularity
    the property of being shaped like a triangle
    globosity, globularness, rotundity, rotundness, sphericalness, sphericity
    the roundness of a 3-dimensional object
    cylindricality, cylindricalness
    the roundness of a 3-dimensional cylinder
    circularity, disk shape
    the roundness of a 2-dimensional figure
    curliness, waviness
    (of hair) a tendency to curl
    straightness
    (of hair) lack of a tendency to curl
    bottleneck, chokepoint, constriction
    a narrowing that reduces the flow through a channel
    type of:
    spatial property, spatiality
    any property relating to or occupying space
  11. noun
    the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance
    synonyms: shape
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 72 types...
    hide 72 types...
    solid
    a three-dimensional shape
    plane, sheet
    (mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape
    natural shape
    a shape created by natural forces; not man-made
    flair, flare
    a shape that spreads outward
    figure
    a combination of points and lines and planes that form a visible palpable shape
    line
    a length (straight or curved) without breadth or thickness; the trace of a moving point
    angular shape, angularity
    a shape having one or more sharp angles
    round shape
    a shape that is curved and without sharp angles
    distorted shape, distortion
    a shape resulting from distortion
    amorphous shape
    an ill-defined or arbitrary shape
    connection, connexion, link
    a connecting shape
    circle
    something approximating the shape of a circle
    square
    something approximating the shape of a square
    triangle
    something approximating the shape of a triangle
    column, pillar, tower
    anything that approximates the shape of a column or tower
    plume
    anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness
    curve
    a line on a graph representing data
    Cartesian plane
    a plane in which all points can be described in Cartesian coordinates
    facet plane
    the plane of a facet of an object (as of a cube)
    midline, midplane
    the median plane of the body (or some part of the body)
    orbital plane
    (astronomy) the plane on which a body is orbiting
    picture plane
    the plane that is in the foreground of a drawing or painting; coextensive with but different from the objective surface of the work
    tangent plane
    the plane that contains all the lines tangent to a specific point on a surface
    leaf form, leaf shape
    any of the various shape that leaves of plants can assume
    equilateral
    a figure whose sides are all equal
    pencil
    a figure formed by a set of straight lines or light rays meeting at a point
    plane figure, two-dimensional figure
    a two-dimensional shape
    solid figure, three-dimensional figure
    a three-dimensional shape
    subfigure
    a figure that is a part of another figure
    bulb
    anything with a round shape resembling a teardrop
    convex shape, convexity
    a shape that curves or bulges outward
    concave shape, concavity, incurvation, incurvature
    a shape that curves or bends inward
    cylinder
    a solid bounded by a cylindrical surface and two parallel planes (the bases)
    curve, curved shape
    the trace of a point whose direction of motion changes
    straight line
    a line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature
    geodesic, geodesic line
    (mathematics) the shortest line between two points on a surface, such as a straight line on a plane or an arc of a great circle on a sphere
    perimeter
    a line enclosing a plane area
    center line, centerline
    a line that bisects a plane figure
    cone, cone shape, conoid
    a shape whose base is a circle and whose sides taper up to a point
    disc, disk,