🔷 Visible form 💪 Physical condition 🧭 To influence 🔨 To form 💡 Symbolic form 🖥️ Data dimensions

to shape

64 2.0

To give something a certain form for a purpose

verb
/ʃeɪp/

: dar forma a

Teachers have the ability to shape students' attitudes towards learning.
shape and model

Let's go and shape up the brow underneath.

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Examples

The recyclables collected on the island are melted and then shaped in molds by skilled residents.

Academic text (1999)
And so it really helped to shape my my research program.
I now have the ability to shape my world.
It's the power of assessment to shape what we think and how we teach.
So we're starting to shape the reforms that we need now.
It's ultimately up to us to shape the look and feel of our next generation catalogs.

Academic text (2011)
The environment is beginning to shape China's economic and political choices in important ways.

Academic text (1999)
The architect will shape the design of the new community center to meet local needs.
She plans to shape her career by pursuing further education in her field.

Synonyms

to form

vsto shape

423 1.6

To make or shape something

focuses on giving a specific figure to serve a particular purpose

to work

vsto shape

305 2.3

To move and shape materials with hands or tools

aims to give a particular figure mainly to fulfill a defined purpose

to model

vsto shape

106 4.1

To make a small copy of something to show or study it

focuses on producing a particular figure for use rather than mere representation

to forge

vsto shape

75 4.6

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

focuses on producing a particular figure for a purpose, not only metalworking

to mold

vsto shape

51 3.6

To help form someone's character or ideas

focuses on producing a particular figure for a specific function

Antonyms

to destroy

∞ 1.0

Damage something so badly that it cannot be used or fixed

Idioms

in shape

137 2.6

A person who is fit and healthy because they exercise regularly

bent out of shape

Informal

21 8.4

Very upset about a small or unimportant thing

shape up or ship out

Informal

1 8.1

A warning that tells someone to get better or leave

Phrasal Verbs

to shape up

48 3.2

Start to get better and more complete

to take shape

46 3.7

To start to form and become clear, for example an idea or plan

to shape up

Informal

24 4.0

Start to behave and work better after a time of not trying

to change shape

21 3.6

To become a different shape

to stay in shape

19 2.8

Keep your body healthy and fit by doing regular exercise

to whip into shape

Informal

11 5.1

Quickly make a person or thing work better by firm action

to get back in shape

5 2.7

To become fit again after not exercising or being unwell

to lick into shape

1 7.1

Make something better by working on it until it is ready

Compounds

cone shape

4 2.3

A shape with a round base that narrows to a single point at the top like an ice cream cone

round shape

4 1.0

A curved form with no sharp corners like a circle

wedge shape

2 3.6

A shape wide at one end and narrow at the other

bell shape

2 3.2

A rounded form that is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top like a bell

funnel shape

2 3.4

A cone-like shape that is wide at one end and narrow at the other

curved shape

2 1.9

A form that bends smoothly without sharp angles, like a rainbow

natural shape

1 2.3

The form of something made by nature, not changed by people

S-shape

1 3.9

A double curve that looks like the letter S

leaf shape

Specialized

1 2.8

The outline of a leaf that helps identify plants

disk shape

1 2.8

A round flat form like a coin or plate

angular shape

1 4.4

A shape with sharp corners and straight sides

amorphous shape

1 6.7

A thing that has no clear form, like a cloud or stain

wave shape

Specialized

1 5.8

The line on a graph that shows how a sound or signal changes over time

shape-up

Archaic

1 9.3

A morning way of choosing dock workers who gather and are picked for daily jobs

change of shape

1 3.2

The way something becomes a different form when it is bent, heated, or pressed

distorted shape

1 5.9

Something that no longer looks like its original form after bending or heat

convex shape

Specialized

1 4.3

A shape that curves outward everywhere like a ball or a lens

concave shape

1 5.2

A shape that curves inward like a bowl or satellite dish

Gaussian shape

Specialized

1 6.9

A smooth bell-shaped curve that shows how values spread around the average

polygonal shape

Specialized

1 4.2

A flat figure with straight sides like a triangle or square

shape constancy

Specialized

7.5

Seeing a solid object like a door as the same form from different angles

How Formed

to sculpt

74 4.3

to carve

205 2.1

to mold

30 3.2

to shape

64 2.0

to sketch

66 3.0

Surface Forms

shape infinitive

shaped past

shaped past participle

shaping present participle

shapes third person singular

Etymology

The word shape comes from the old English verb sceapian ('to form' or 'make'), and this was the original action word. So to shape something is simply to give it a form or make it fit a purpose.