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former

FOR-mur/ˈfɔɹmɚ/UKFAW-muh/ˈfɔːmə/

Noun pluralformers

5 meanings of former

Practice

  1. 1
    previousadjective
    Belonging to or occurring at an earlier time; previous.

    The committee honored its former chairman at the annual dinner.

    Several former colleagues attended the reunion downtown.

    UsageBefore a noun: my former teacher, the former champion, the former Soviet Union.

    Similarerstwhile, sometime

    Oppositecurrent, next

  2. 2
    first of twoadjective
    Denoting the first of two people or things just mentioned, in contrast to the second (the latter).

    Faced with honesty or flattery, most people respect the former.

    The report compared the old and new systems and recommended the former.

    UsageUsed with the as the former, often paired with the latter.

    Similarfirst

    Oppositelatter

    Note

    Here the word points back within a sentence rather than back in time. The old sense of "first" behind the "previous" meaning shows most plainly here.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  3. 3
    school pupilnounBritishcountable
    A pupil belonging to a particular form, or year group, in a British school.

    Like an American student being labeled a "sophomore" or "senior" by their year.

    Sixth formers usually choose three or four subjects to study.

    As a fifth former, she captained the school netball team.

    UsageAlmost always with a number: a sixth-former, fifth formers.

    Note

    Like the "maker" noun, it is form plus -er. The form here, though, is the class a pupil belongs to, not the act of shaping something.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    makernounrarecountable
    A person who forms, makes, or creates something; a maker, creator, or founder.

    Similarmaker, creator, founder, builder, shaper

    Oppositedestroyer

    Note

    Despite the spelling, this is a different word from the adjective. It comes from Middle English formere, built simply as form + -er, the same way as maker. It usually takes of plus what was made, as in the former of the company. In speech the context has to separate it from the far commoner adjective. In writing, the plural formers shows at once that it is a noun.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The maker noun has a different etymology from the adjective, whose origin is a comparative meaning first. en.wiktionary.org
    • The noun descends from Middle English formere and is analysable as form + -er. en.wiktionary.org
    • Maker likewise consists of a verb plus -er. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 5
    noun
    A tool, template, or shaped object used to give material a desired shape, such as a gauge or cutting die.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of former apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2

"Former" comes from Middle English "former," the comparative of "forme" ("first"), from Old English "forma" ("first") and Proto-Germanic *frumô. It shares a Proto-Indo-European root with "prior" and is related to "first" and "fore" (and thus "before").

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

Meanings 3–4

This sense comes from Middle English "formere," analysable as "form" plus the suffix "-er."

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts