forces

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of force.

   Gravity and friction are the main forces acting on the sliding crate.

   Several forces combine to keep a satellite in a steady orbit.

   Note

   Only the countable uses of force take a plural: an instance of a physical force, or a particular type of force, as when gravity and friction are named side by side. Force as a general abstraction stays singular, as does force treated as an amount, a use that is proscribed. The same spelling is also the verb's present form (the wind forces the door), so the surrounding grammar decides which is meant.

2. 2
   noun

   Troops; the soldiers and military personnel of a country, considered as an organized fighting body.

   Allied forces landed on the beaches at first light.

   The general ordered his forces to advance toward the capital.

   Similartroops, army, soldiers, military

   Note

   A military word that exists only in the plural. It names troops as a collective body and never refers to a single soldier. It usually carries a qualifier saying whose forces they are or what kind: armed forces, allied forces, ground forces, government forces. It takes a plural verb (the forces were withdrawn), and it is the word news reports and official statements reach for when they speak of a country's fighting strength as a whole.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of force.

   The new law forces companies to disclose their carbon emissions.

   Heavy rain forces the festival indoors almost every summer.

   Note

   Every meaning of the verb is transitive, so this form always needs an object. Someone forces a lock or a door. A person may be forced to act, with a to-infinitive. Something may be forced into, out of or through a place, with a prepositional phrase. It is spelled like the noun plural, and position tells the two apart: directly after a singular subject, it is the verb.

4. 4
   noun

   The orchestral instruments and voices assembled to perform a musical production.

   Like the full lineup of musicians and singers a performance gathers to bring the score to life.

   The composer scored the work for modest forces: strings, two horns, and a small chorus.

   Mounting the oratorio requires considerable vocal and instrumental forces.

   Similarresources, performers

   Note

   A musician's word, nearly always plural, for the full complement of players and singers a work demands. An adjective usually sizes it: large, modest, reduced, vocal, instrumental. It typically follows scored for or written for. Unlike instrumentation, it takes in the chorus and soloists as well, so a reviewer can say an oratorio calls for vast forces without naming a single instrument.

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