force

Formsforces, forcing, forced

Pluralforces

1. 1
   compelverbtransitive

   To make a person or thing do something, often against their will.

   Economic hardship can force families to leave their homes.

   The general forced his troops to march through the night.

   Usageforce someone to do something, unlike make someone do: forced him to go (not incorrect: forced him go). Often passive: were forced to leave.

   Similarcompel, oblige, coerce, drive, pressure

   Note

   Circumstances make natural subjects. The object can even be a choice rather than a person: The Economist wrote in 2009 of an economy whose shocking state "has forced the decision." Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The Economist used the quoted wording in 2009 about an economy's shocking state forcing a decision. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   militarynouncountable or uncountable

   Military personnel taken as a whole, including their vehicles, ships, and aircraft; a nation's armed strength.

   Both her parents served in the armed forces, so she grew up on bases.

   Naval force in the region was reduced after the treaty.

   UsageSet phrase the armed forces: join the armed forces.

   Similararmy, military, troops, power

   Note

   Armies are counted with this sense in either number. Japanese forces captured Singapore, while reinforcements might bring a force up to 9,000. The plural suits a side's armed strength in general, while the singular suits a total or a figure. Ships, vehicles and aircraft are counted as part of it, not just the people who serve. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

   • Japanese forces captured Singapore. cove.army.gov.au
3. 3
   major influencenouncountable

   Something or someone that has a strong influence on people or events, whether openly or in a subtle, underlying way.

   Religion remained a powerful force in the region's politics.

   Market trends are a force that no business can ignore.

   UsageCommon phrases: a powerful force, a driving force, a force for good.

   Similarinfluence, power

4. 4
   organized unitnouncountable

   An organized group of people brought together for a purpose, such as a body of troops, a security unit, or a team of workers.

   The shipping company hired a private security force to protect its vessels from pirates.

   A small force of officers secured the perimeter.

   UsageIn names: police force, air force, task force, peacekeeping force.

   Similarunit, team, squad, body, detachment

   Note

   A tribune already asks in Shakespeare's Cymbeline, "Is Lucius general of the forces?" Emerson Hough's The Purchase Price (1910) stretches the plural to a politician "strengthening his forces," with supporters marshaled like troops. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Emerson Hough wrote The Purchase Price, published in 1910. gutenberg.org
   • The novel uses “strengthening his forces” about a politician's supporters. gutenberg.org
5. 5
   violencenoununcountable

   Power exerted against someone's will or consent, including violence and coercion.

   The regime maintained control through force and intimidation.

   The militia seized the farmland by force, driving out families who refused to leave.

   UsageNo a: by force, use force, the use of force. Compare by right.

   Similarcoercion, violence, compulsion, duress

   Oppositepersuasion

   Note

   This is power that does not wait for consent, and it is the noun behind the phrase by force. Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 2 sets up the contrast it still carries: "which now they hold by force, and not by right." Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • William Shakespeare wrote Henry VI, Part 2. gutenberg.org
   • Henry VI, Part 2 contains the quoted contrast between force and right; York speaks it. gutenberg.org
6. 6
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Strength or energy of body or mind; the active power or vigor by which one exerts influence or produces an effect.

   He delivered the argument with such force that no one objected.

   The full force of her personality dominated the meeting.

   UsageCommon phrases: the force of an argument, with great force, the full force of something.

   Similarpower, strength, vigor, energy, intensity

   Oppositeweakness

   Note

   The most general sense of the noun is also the one nearest its origin: Old French force, from Late Latin fortia, built on Latin fortis, "strong." Force here belongs to people and to words alike: the force of an argument, an appeal or a contract. Macaulay's "in the full force of the words" applies it to meaning itself, and a show of force is power put on display. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • The strength or power sense is the original sense borrowed from French. en.wiktionary.org
   • English force derives from Old French force. en.wiktionary.org
   • Old French force derives from Late Latin fortia, formed from Latin fortis, meaning strong. en.wiktionary.org
   • Macaulay wrote the quoted phrase, referring to the meaning of words. en.wikisource.org
7. 7
   make happenverbtransitive

   To bring something about through effort or power, despite inertia or resistance.

   The striker forced an opening and scored.

   Negotiators worked to force a settlement before the deadline.

   UsageThe result is the object: force a smile, force a laugh, force a decision.

   Similarcreate, engineer, secure, achieve

   Note

   Forcing a laugh at unfunny jokes produces the sound without the amusement behind it. The same pattern reaches into debate. A 1982 conference report describes Janet Tobacman's remarks as forcing a concern that had received little discussion until then. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • A 1982 conference report describes Janet Tobacman's remarks as forcing a concern that had received little discussion. Wiktionary identifies it as Sharon Page's report in Gay Community News, December 4, 1982. en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   nouncountable or uncountablewith the

   The police of a particular area, considered collectively as a single organized body.

   He served on the force for twenty years before retiring.

   The entire force was mobilized to manage the festival crowds.

   UsageCommon phrases include on the force and join the force.

   Similarpolice, department, constabulary

   Note

   Testimony in 1880 U.S. House documents asks about "all the time that he was on the force." Janice Kay Johnson's Niall is "on the force, too, a detective in major crimes." Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • U.S. House documents dated 1880 contain the quoted question about being on the force. en.wiktionary.org
   • Janice Kay Johnson's fiction describes Niall using the quoted words. en.wiktionary.org
9. 9
   verbtransitive

   To drive or propel something by physical power, usually in a given direction.

   The current forced the boat against the rocks.

   Workers force the molten metal through narrow molds.

   UsageUsually with a direction: force something into, through, off or against something.

   Similarthrust

   Note

   Dryden's Virgil has the victor force the steel away. Thomas Fuller reports that Ethelbert ordered none be forced into religion, so the movement can be figurative as well as physical. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • John Dryden's translation of Virgil describes the victor forcing the steel away. luminarium.org
   • Thomas Fuller reports that Ethelbert ordered that nobody should be forced into religion. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    physical impactnouncountable or uncountable

    Physical power or strength that pushes, pulls, or strikes something, often thought of as greater or smaller.

    The force of the collision crumpled the front of the car.

    The wave hit the pier with enough force to tear several planks loose.

    UsageOften the force of something: the force of the collision; with enough force to break it.

11. 11
    push (physics)nouncountable or uncountable

    In physics, a push, pull or twist acting in a particular direction, such as gravity or friction, that can change how a body moves; measured in newtons.

    A force of 10 newtons gives a 2-kilogram cart an acceleration of 5 meters per second squared.

    Engineers split the wind force on the bridge into horizontal and vertical components.

    Note

    The scientist's force is a measured quantity: where the everyday sense speaks of strength or vigor, physics asks how much and in which direction. Its dimension, mass times acceleration, makes one newton a kilogram-meter per second squared. Weight is a force in this sense, measured in newtons; the kilogram measures mass. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Force in physics has a measurable magnitude and a direction. www1.grc.nasa.gov
    • Force has the dimensions of mass times acceleration; one newton equals one kilogram-meter per second squared. nvlpubs.nist.gov
    • Weight in the physics sense is a force whose SI unit is the newton. nist.gov
    • The kilogram is a unit of mass. bipm.org
12. 12
    legal effectnoununcountable

    The state of having legal weight or being legally valid and binding.

    The treaty remains in force until either side withdraws.

    The regulations came into force as soon as the minister signed them.

    UsageFixed phrases with no article: come into force, be in force, remain in force.

    Similareffect, validity, operation

    Note

    The law's phrase for being operative: a statute comes into force on a set date and then remains in force until something ends it. Come into force is the natural English for the moment a law, treaty or regulation starts to bind. The archaic verb force meaning "enforce" once covered similar ground. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Coming into force is when legislation, regulations or treaties acquire legal effect. en.wikipedia.org
    • A statute can come into force on a specified date. parliament.uk
    • A statute's period in force continues until something terminates it, which need not be repeal. en.wikipedia.org
    • The verb force has an archaic sense meaning enforce or make binding. en.wiktionary.org

Showing meanings only. Show all 27