formation Hear it!

formation definition

for·ma·tion (fôr mā′s̸hən)

noun

  1. a forming or being formed
  2. a thing formed
  3. the way in which something is formed or arranged; structure
  4. an arrangement or positioning, as of troops, ships, airplanes in flight, football players, etc.
  5. Ecol. the major unit of vegetation usually extending over a large area, as the prairie, deciduous forest, tundra, etc.
  6. Geol. a rock unit distinguished from adjacent deposits by some common character, as composition, origin, type of fossil, etc.

Etymology: ME formacioun < OFr formation < L formatio < pp. of formare: see form

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business formation definition - business

medical formation definition - medical

formation Synonyms

formation

n.

  1. The process of forming

    development, establishment, arrangement, crystallization, deposit, accumulation, production, composition, fabrication, generation, creation, genesis, induction, embodiment, synthesis, compilation, constitution, organization.

    Antonyms destruction*, dissolution*, annihilation.

  2. An arrangement

    configuration, disposition, structure, phalanx; see form 1, order 3.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

formation Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • clot: Ginger has now been found to be as effective as aspirin in reducing the formation of clots and subsequent blockages.

Converse of object

  • inhibit: Adrenal corticosteroids stimulate resorption of bone and inhibit the formation of new bone.

Adjective modifier

  • geological: The groups were set tasks which required them to list geological formations that would be caused by given agents of erosion.

Modifies a noun

  • skydiving: I will be taking the formation skydiving course next.

Noun used with modifier

  • rock: The prisoners blasted through rock formations to form cuttings.
formation usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"formation." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/formation>

APA Style

formation. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/formation

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment