form

(fôrm)

1. a. The shape and structure of an object.
   b. The body or outward appearance of a person or an animal considered separately from the face or head; figure.
2. a. The essence of something.
   b. The mode in which a thing exists, acts, or manifests itself; kind: a form of animal life; a form of blackmail.
3. a. Procedure as determined or governed by regulation or custom.
   b. A fixed order of words or procedures, as for use in a ceremony; a formula.
4. A document with blanks for the insertion of details or information: insurance forms.
5. a. Manners or conduct as governed by etiquette, decorum, or custom.
   b. Behavior according to a fixed or accepted standard: Tardiness is considered bad form.
   c. Performance considered with regard to acknowledged criteria: a good jump shooter having an unusual form.
6. a. Proven ability to perform: a musician at the top of her form.
   b. Fitness, as of an athlete or animal, with regard to health or training.
   c. The past performance of a racehorse.
   d. A racing form.
7. a. Method of arrangement or manner of coordinating elements in literary or musical composition or in organized discourse: presented my ideas in outline form; a treatise in the form of a dialogue.
   b. A particular type or example of such arrangement: The essay is a literary form.
   c. The design, structure, or pattern of a work of art: symphonic form.
8. a. A mold for the setting of concrete.
   b. A model of the human figure or part of it used for displaying clothes.
   c. A proportioned model that may be adjusted for fitting clothes.
9. A grade in a British secondary school or in some American private schools: the sixth form.
10. a. A linguistic form.
    b. The external aspect of words with regard to their inflections, pronunciation, or spelling.
11. a. Chiefly British A long seat; a bench.
    b. The resting place of a hare.
12. Botany A subdivision of a variety usually differing in one trivial characteristic, such as flower color.

1. a. To give form to; shape: form clay into figures.
   b. To develop in the mind; conceive: form an opinion.
2. a. To shape or mold (dough, for example) into a particular form.
   b. To arrange oneself in: Holding out his arms, the cheerleader formed a T. The acrobats formed a pyramid.
   c. To organize or arrange: The environmentalists formed their own party.
   d. To fashion, train, or develop by instruction or precept: form a child's mind.
3. To come to have; develop or acquire: form a habit.
4. To constitute or compose a usually basic element, part, or characteristic of.
5. a. To produce (a tense, for example) by inflection: form the pluperfect.
   b. To make (a word) by derivation or composition.
6. To put in order; arrange.

1. To become formed or shaped.
2. To come into being by taking form; arise.
3. To assume a specified form, shape, or pattern.

Related Forms:

• formˌa·bilˈi·ty noun

• formˈa·ble adjective

Form