# form

Pronunciation: US say "FORM" /fɔɹm/; UK say "FAWM" /fɔːm/

## Noun

1. One kind or variety of a thing, or a particular manner in which it exists or shows up.
   - Simple: A kind or type of something, or a certain way that something exists or shows itself.
   - _Online bullying is a newer form of harassment that follows kids home from school._
   - _The virus usually shows up in a mild form in children but can be severe in older adults._
3. A template or blank document designed to be completed with the user's details.
   - Simple: A printed or digital sheet with blank spaces you fill in.
   - _The application form asked for her address and phone number._
   - _He downloaded the tax form and printed two copies._
5. The shape or outward structure of a thing or person.
   - Simple: The outer shape or structure of a person or thing.
   - _The sculptor studied the human form for years before carving._
   - _A dark form emerged slowly from the mist along the riverbank._
8. The current level of a person's or team's performance, especially in sports.
   - Simple: How well a person or team is playing or performing.
   - _The champion returned to top form just before the finals._
   - _Poor form in recent matches cost the team its lead._
9. The way in which something is constructed or organized; its underlying structure or system.
   - Simple: The way something is built, organized, or arranged.
   - _The constitution defines the basic form of the state._
   - _Jazz developed a looser form than classical music._
10. The particular shape or structure a word takes in different grammatical uses, such as its plural or past-tense version.
   - Simple: The particular shape a word takes in grammar, like its plural or past tense.
   - _Spanish verbs have a different form for each person and number._
   - _The comparative form of "good" is irregular._
11. The specific technique or way of performing a physical movement, especially in sports or exercise.
   - Simple: The way someone does a physical movement or exercise.
   - _Proper form prevents back injuries during heavy squats._
   - _The swimmer worked on her form to shave seconds off her time._
12. A device or mold that gives shape to other materials poured or pressed into it.
   - Simple: A hollow shape used to give other things their shape, like a mold.
   - _Wet concrete is poured into a form and left to set._
   - _Once the concrete had cured, the crew pried the plywood forms off the foundation walls._
13. Outward show or ceremony without real substance; something done merely for convention or appearance.
   - Simple: An empty show or ceremony done only because it is expected.
   - _Their apology was mere form, offered without any real regret._
   - _The committee's vote was a mere form; the director had chosen the winner months before._
14. A window or dialog box in a computer program's user interface.
   - Simple: A window or box on a screen where a program shows buttons and information.
   - _The developer dragged a text box and two buttons onto the application's main form._
   - _He added a text field and two buttons to the form before testing it._
16. A class or year-group of students in British schools, roughly corresponding to an American grade level. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A class or year-group of students in a British school.
   - _Mr. Hughes took charge of our form for morning registration after Miss Lee retired._
   - _Pupils in the lower forms wear a different uniform._
17. A model or specimen document meant to be copied or imitated.
   - Simple: An example document that you copy or follow when making your own.
   - _The clerk consulted a printed form whenever he had to draft a new deed._
   - _Generations of notaries drew their contracts from the same trusted form._
19. An established or conventional way of proceeding; a fixed method, scheme, or set formula.
   - Simple: A fixed or accepted way of doing or saying something.
   - _Diplomatic letters follow a strict form of address._
   - _The company spokesperson answered every question with the same careful form of words._
20. The inherent nature of a thing: its essence, and what the mind itself supplies as the condition for knowing it.
   - Simple: The basic nature that makes a thing what it is, or the framework the mind brings to understanding it.
   - _Aristotle located the form of a substance in its organizing principle rather than its matter._
   - _For the idealist, the form through which we perceive the world is partly our own contribution._
21. A person's past history in a given area, or a settled habit of doing something. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A person's past record, especially a habit of doing something wrong before.
   - _She has form when it comes to rescuing failing firms, having already turned three around._
   - _The landlord refused him a room, knowing his form for skipping the rent._
22. Regularity, beauty, or elegance arising from well-proportioned shape or arrangement.
   - Simple: Beauty and balance that come from a regular, well-ordered shape.
   - _The vase was admired less for its color than for its perfect form._
   - _The sculptor's fine sense of form shows in the graceful balance of every figure._

## Verb

2. To assemble or create something, causing it to come into being.
   - Simple: To put parts together to make something new.
   - _The senators voted to form a new committee._
   - _Several startups formed an alliance to share research._
4. To come into being or take on a particular shape, especially gradually.
   - Simple: To start to exist or to take a certain shape, often slowly.
   - _Storm clouds form quickly over the warm ocean._
   - _A plan slowly formed in her mind during the long drive._
6. To make up or compose something; to be the parts that constitute it.
   - Simple: To make up or be the parts of something.
   - _These chapters form the core of the book._
   - _Volunteers formed the backbone of the relief effort._
7. To shape something or someone, giving it a definite structure or visible outline.
   - Simple: To give a shape or structure to something.
   - _The artist formed the wire into a delicate spiral._
   - _Workers form the molten glass into smooth sheets._
15. To create a word through inflection or derivation from an existing one.
   - Simple: To make a new word by changing or adding parts to another word.
   - _Speakers form the past tense of regular verbs by adding -ed to the base._
   - _Young children often form words like goed and runned before they learn the irregular ones._
18. To shape or develop a person's character and abilities through instruction and discipline.
   - Simple: To shape someone's character or mind through teaching and training.
   - _The monastery sought to form its novices through prayer and strict routine._
   - _Mentors form their apprentices not by lecturing but by daily correction._

## Noun

23. A class or rank within the structure of society. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A person's rank or class within society.
24. In letterpress printing, the assembled type and other matter locked in a chase and ready to take an impression. *(dated)*
   - Simple: In printing, the set of type locked in a frame and ready to print from.
   - _The compositor wheeled the heavy form to the press once every line had been justified._
   - _Imposing the form correctly ensured the pages would fall in the right order after folding._
25. A long backless bench, of the kind once used for seating several people at once. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A long wooden bench that has no back to lean on.
   - _Generations of pupils carved their initials into the worn oak form at the back of the room._
   - _Mourners crowded onto every form in the small meeting house._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A taxonomic rank below the level of species, used for minor variants within a population.
- (noun) The complete set of crystal faces related by the symmetry of the crystal, grouped under one crystallographic symbol and not necessarily enclosing a closed solid.
- (noun) The shallow hollow in grass or earth where a hare lies and rests.
- (noun) A homogeneous polynomial in two or more variables, the subject of classical invariant theory.
- (verb) To give a hare a hollow in the ground where it can lie.
- (verb) To prepare storage-battery plates so that one turns to spongy lead and its partner to lead dioxide, by charging them with current, often after coating them with lead-oxide pastes.

## Origin

Latin fōrma ("shape, figure, image, outline, mold, kind," and more) passed into Old French as forme, which Middle English borrowed as forme with meanings such as shape, figure, manner, bench, frame, and condition. The school sense, a group of students, began in public school naming and was later picked up by state schools. Some trace it to the "bench" meaning, since students of similar ages sat together, but that is disputed. Others link it to the idea of an established method of practice.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/form (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).