🗂️ A type or kind 🔷 Shape or structure 📄 A document 👥 To create a group ☁️ To take shape 🦠 A variant group 👐 To make or shape 🏅 Performance level 🌊 To make up 🧠 To establish 🔤 Word shape 👩‍🎓 A student group 🧍 A mannequin 🧱 A mold or frame

to form

156 1.6

To make or shape something

verb
/fɔrm/

: formar

The student pairs will form a circle and rotate counterclockwise as they dance.
form a group
form relationships
form a committee

Save the simple molecules to form larger, more complex molecules.

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Examples

You do this, you form the matrix A of X.
Huge shantytowns are already forming on the edges of Beijing, Shanghai, and other Chinese megacities.

Academic text (2011)
So we're going to form some heads on there.
All this is such a big, a big deal to form bonds.
Save the simple molecules to form larger, more complex molecules.

StarTalk
So we break the red bonds and form the green bonds.
Rewards get us to repeat behaviors and form habits.
You will form an orderly line so that an employee can hand you a numbered ball.

Jingle All the Way (1996)
Then, in 1926, General Sarnoff formed NBC radio, America's first network.

Private Parts (1997)
You should whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.

Synonyms

to make

vsto form

∞ 1.0

To create something by putting parts together

is broader and applies to creating in any way physical or abstract

to work

vsto form

∞ 2.3

To move and shape materials with hands or tools

is broader applying to creating ideas or objects beyond material manipulation

to shape

vsto form

328 3.4

To influence how a person or thing develops

focuses on creating tangible results rather than guiding development

to shape

vsto form

299 2.0

To give something a certain form for a purpose

is used more widely for creating things not only for specific purposes

to construct

vsto form

201 3.5

To build something by joining parts or materials

is broader covering creating in many ways beyond assembly

to forge

vsto form

47 4.6

To shape metal by heating and hammering or to make something with effort

covers general creating without the metal or heavy effort focus

to mold

vsto form

35 3.2

To shape something by hand or in a container

is more general and applies to creating without specific hand or container methods

to tool

vsto form

2 6.0

To shape or work material by using tools

is not limited to instrument use and covers creating by many methods

to body forth

vsto form

Archaic

9.7

To show an idea or feeling in a visible way

is used more broadly to create things not just to turn ideas into objects

Antonyms

to destroy

∞ 1.0

Damage something so badly that it cannot be used or fixed

to dismantle

64 4.2

Take something apart into separate pieces

Idioms

true to form

Informal

9 4.1

Happening or acting in the usual way as before

in rare form

Informal

4 7.6

Doing something much better than usual with extra energy

in no way, shape, or form

3 5.6

It is not true or possible in any way

to return to form

1 4.6

Get back to a previous good level of ability after a time of decline

Phrasal Verbs

to change form

4 3.9

To become a different shape or look

to take form

4 3.5

To begin to develop and become clear in shape or idea

to fill in the form

1 1.0

To complete a paper or online form by writing your personal details

to form bubbles

1 2.9

Make small round pockets of air inside or on a liquid

to form a ruck

Jargon

8.7

In rugby, gather closely over a tackled player to protect and try to get the ball

Compounds

life form

127 2.8

A plant, an animal, or a tiny organism

art form

55 3.2

A particular type of art, like music, painting, or dance

life form

Specialized

37 3.4

The physical shape and parts of a plant or animal

tax form

Formal

12 2.8

An official paper you use to tell the government how much money you earn and owe in tax

application form

8 2.0

A document with questions to fill in when you apply for a job or a course

order form

6 2.0

A printed or online page you fill to ask for goods and services

form letter

5 3.2

A letter sent to many people with the same text

requisition form

Formal

4 4.1

An official paper you use to ask for supplies or services from an organization

claim form

Formal

3 2.9

A document you fill in to ask for money back from an insurance company

good form

3 4.9

Polite behavior people expect in social situations

free-form

2 5.3

A work that does not follow fixed rules or structure

form of address

1 3.4

A way of speaking used when you talk to someone to show their title or relationship

free form

Specialized

1 6.5

A small part of language that can be a whole word

plural form

1 1.6

A change in a word that shows more than one person or thing

citation form

Texting

1 7.5

The basic form of a word that a dictionary lists

verse form

Literature

1 7.0

A type of poem with a set number of lines and rhythm like a sonnet or haiku

bound form

Specialized

9.6

A small part added to a word that cannot stand alone, like -s in cats and -ed in walked

combining form

Specialized

8.1

A small word part from Greek or Latin that appears only inside longer words

baking form

2.6

A pan that holds batter or dough while it bakes

form book

Jargon

6.7

A record of past results and details about competitors that helps people decide bets

form class

Specialized

6.9

A group of words that do the same job in grammar, like a noun or verb

form division

Archaic

9.9

An old artificial group that scientists used to sort plants

form family

Specialized

9.9

A temporary group scientists use for plants or animals when it is not clear how they are related

form genus Rhizoctinia

Specialized

9.9

A group name for fungi seen only in their non-sexual stage, often causing plant disease

form genus

Specialized

9.9

A temporary group for living things, often fossils, whose relations to others are unclear

leaf form

5.6

The shape of a plant leaf that helps identify species

major form class

Specialized

7.7

A main group of words like nouns, verbs, and adjectives that show a word's role in a sentence

imperative form

Specialized

4.4

A verb form used to give a command or request

plural form

Specialized

3.7

One translation used for different numbers, like one or many

telegraph form

Archaic

8.2

A printed form you use to write a telegram

singular form

Specialized

1.8

The form of a word used for one person or thing

sonata form

Specialized

8.6

A musical pattern with three main parts used at the start of many symphonies and sonatas

word form

Specialized

4.1

A written or spoken version of a word showing its grammar and sound

How Thorough

to construct

201 3.5

to build

∞ 1.0

to form

156 1.6

to make

∞ 1.0

to throw together

Informal

22 3.5

Surface Forms

form infinitive

formed past

formed past participle

forming present participle

forms third person singular

Etymology

Form comes from the Latin formare 'to shape', and to form something is to make or shape it, so the verb keeps the idea of making a particular shape or thing.