🗂️ 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

107 2.1

To make or be a particular part of something

verb
/fɔrm/

: formar

These elements form the core of our understanding of human behavior.
form part of
form the basis
form the core

Those leaves are what forms the the skin on the onion.

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Examples

In time, some of them form a more permanent association of one kind or the other.

The Quiet American (1958)
Today, most CPUs form part of a von Neumann architecture.
Like they form, they help form you into the person that you are.
Like maybe if enough people say that together, that forms an opinion, that forms a voice.

The Iced Coffee Hour
The myths that form our nation states are all around us.
Otherwise they just form a strong but flexible fabric.
Together, we form an alliance with the humans, a secret but brave squad of soldiers.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Strong, supportive peer relations form another layer of protection in the lives of these participants.

Academic text (2008)
It supports the entire marine ecosystem... ...which forms the basis of our planet's food supply.

On Deadly Ground (1994)
The average proportion of female faculty of 163 institutions forms the baseline of each year.

Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

to be

vsto form

∞ 1.0

Have a particular identity, role, or function

serves as a specific part or feature rather than general identity or role

to make up

vsto form

239 2.7

Be the parts that form a whole

serves as a part or feature rather than focusing on joining pieces

to constitute

vsto form

140 4.4

To be the parts that make up a whole

serves as a specified part rather than summing totals or amounts

to compose

vsto form

106 3.8

To be the parts that together form something

serves as a specific part or feature rather than stressing the act of joining

Antonyms

to remove

∞ 1.5

To move something or someone away from a place

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 Much

to dominate

213 3.8

to constitute

140 4.4

to form

107 2.1

to be

∞ 1.0

to include

∞ 1.0

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 when something 'forms' part of a whole it helps to make the shape or structure of that whole, so it is a building part of the thing.