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Glite Dictionary
to march in formation

to march in formation

1 6.0
To walk together in an organized group for a parade or ceremony
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : marchar en formación
  • No situation could be more realistic as a leadership setting, which includes the regular Marine Corps Mess Hall where they march in formation each day, sharing their lives with real Marine Corps personnel.

Examples

  • But that was impossible; all five shitdogs were marching in formation on the stranded base.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • During the ceremony, the soldiers march in formation to demonstrate their discipline and unity.

  • I just had the opportunity to visit the Air Force Academy, seeing the cadets march in formation to lunch.

    Blog text (10)

  • How about every junior learns to march in formation and we invade our neighbours?

    Lions for Lambs (2007)

  • The rest of the band marches in formation as he threatens them into their costumes.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Asafo adopted certain European military practices such as marching in formation, identifying companies by name and number, and carrying and saluting flags.

    Academic text (2002)

  • They marched in perfect formation, each with a wiry smile, slicked-back hair, and an astrakhan hat over the right ear.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The five miles of pine trees, wild birds, and red-tail hawks high above the crest of green, bear tracks, and trees cut by lightning witness the two brothers marching to the ridge in army formation.

    Academic text (2007)

  • We marched in formation, loudly singing all the songs of the summer, the rousing hymns and the mournful ballads.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • "You take our land away, you forbid us to own weapons, you even make it a crime for us to carry spears—and then you call us savages when we don't march in formation against your guns!

    Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

to march
vsto march in formation
389 1.0

To walk in a steady, organized way with other people

is for tightly organized groups, especially for military or ceremonial purposes
to parade
vsto march in formation
27 2.9

To march together in public to celebrate

focuses on strict, organized formation for ceremonial or military use
to process
vsto march in formation
  • Formal
12 7.2

To walk in a line during a ceremony

includes both ceremonial and military formations rather than only ceremonies
to troop
vsto march in formation
6 3.8

To move together in a group, often slowly and in an orderly way

is about precise, organized movement for ceremonial or military use

Antonyms

to scatter
110 2.7

To make people or animals move quickly in different directions

to disorganize
  • US
4 4.5

To make something lose its order or structure

How Organized

to keep step
1 3.2
to march in formation
1 6.0
to march
389 1.0
to parade
27 2.9
to wander
379 1.3

Surface Forms

march in formation infinitive
marched in formation past
marched in formation past participle
marching in formation present participle
marches in formation third person singular

Morphology

march + in + formation

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from the constituents: 'march' (to walk in organized formation) combined with the prepositional phrase 'in formation' (in a patterned arrangement) yields the intended sense without idiomatic shift. This is a straightforward compositional pattern found across languages and in English verb + prepositional phrase constructions, so a B1 learner who knows the component words will readily understand it.

Etymology

March in formation comes from soldiers and bands walking in neat lines, all taking the same step so the group moves together. The image of people all marching inside a steady formation is why it means 'to walk in a structured, organized arrangement'.