shape
Pluralshapes
Pluralshapes
- 1The outline or form of something, or how its parts are arranged. Also a figure such as a circle or square.
Like how a balloon takes a round form when you blow it up.
My wool hat lost its shape after I washed it.
Soft clay can take almost any shape.
UsageOften in the shape of something.
Similarform, outline, contour, figure, configuration
- 2
- 3To make something into a particular shape or form, using your hands, tools, or careful work.
Like making a snowball round with your hands.
He shaped the dough into round buns.
You can shape clay with just your hands.
UsageOften shape something into something.
Similarform, mold, fashion, model, sculpt
Note
- 4How good or bad the condition of something or someone is, including how fit and healthy a person's body is.
Like checking whether a toy is broken or still works well.
I want to get in shape before summer.
He is out of shape and gets tired on the stairs.
UsageSay in good shape; out of shape means not fit.
Similarcondition, state, form, health
Note
Less common meanings
- 5
- 6A mold for making jelly or pudding, or the molded food itself.
It was brawn and shape for high tea.
1978, Jane Gardam, God on the RocksHere, shape means a molded jelly or pudding.And if I 'm late for supper there 's a dish of macaroni cheese you must put in the oven and a tin of tomatoes to eat with it. And there is a little rhubarb and shape.
1918, Rebecca West [pseudonym; Cicily Isabel Fairfield], The Return of the SoldierNote
- 7To picture or think something up in your mind.
Oft my jealousy / Shapes faults that are not.
c. 1603, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”Here, shapes means imagines or pictures in the mind.Note
- 8To fit or suit a situation, or be adjusted to match it.
The more of you 'twas felt, the more it shap'd / Unto my end of stealing them
1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline” - 9A dice that has been secretly weighted so it lands a certain way.
A top cheater seldom ever uses shapes or loaded dice because they do not assure you of winning.
1961, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Gambling and Organized… - 10A bar or beam of metal made with a special cross section, not a plain bar.
- 11A metal piece that has been forged nearly to its final form but is not finished yet.
- 12In the Hack programming language, a group of named data fields, each holding a certain kind of value.
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Origin
From Old English ġesceap, meaning "shape" or "form," from an older Germanic root, perhaps linked to a word meaning "to split or cut." The verb comes from Old English scieppan, "to shape or create."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The noun derives from Old English ġesceap, meaning shape or form. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old English noun derives from an older Germanic root. en.wiktionary.org
- The etymology possibly involves a root meaning to split or cut. en.wiktionary.org
- The verb derives from Old English scieppan, meaning to shape or create. en.wiktionary.org