form

1 the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something; "the inflected forms of a word can be represented by a stem and a list of inflections to be attached" [syn: word form, signifier, descriptor]

2 a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality; "sculpture is a form of art"; "what kinds of desserts are there?" [syn: kind, sort, variety]

3 a perceptual structure; "the composition presents problems for students of musical form"; "a visual pattern must include not only objects but the spaces between them" [syn: shape, pattern]

4 any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline); "he could barely make out their shapes through the smoke" [syn: shape, configuration, contour, conformation]

5 alternative names for the body of a human being; "Leonardo studied the human body"; "he has a strong physique"; "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" [syn: human body, physical body, material body, soma, build, figure, physique, anatomy, shape, bod, chassis, frame, flesh]

6 the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance; "geometry is the mathematical science of shape" [syn: shape]

7 the visual appearance of something or someone; "the delicate cast of his features" [syn: shape, cast]

8 (physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary; "the reaction occurs in the liquid phase of the system" [syn: phase]

9 a printed document with spaces in which to write; "he filled out his tax form"

10 (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms" [syn: variant, strain, var.]

11 an arrangement of the elements in a composition or discourse; "the essay was in the form of a dialogue"; "he first sketches the plot in outline form"

12 a particular mode in which something is manifested; "his resentment took the form of extreme hostility"

13 a body of students who are taught together; "early morning classes are always sleepy" [syn: class, grade]

14 an ability to perform well; "he was at the top of his form"; "the team was off form last night"

15 a life-size dummy used to display clothes [syn: mannequin, manikin, mannikin, manakin]

16 a mold for setting concrete; "they built elaborate forms for pouring the foundation"

1 to compose or represent:"This wall forms the background of the stage setting"; "The branches made a roof"; "This makes a fine introduction" [syn: constitute, make]

2 create (as an entity); "social groups form everywhere"; "They formed a company" [syn: organize, organise]

3 develop into a distinctive entity; "our plans began to take shape" [syn: take form, take shape, spring]

4 give a shape or form to; "shape the dough" [syn: shape]

5 make something, usually for a specific function; "She molded the riceballs carefully"; "Form cylinders from the dough"; "shape a figure"; "Work the metal into a sword" [syn: shape, work, mold, mould, forge]

6 establish or impress firmly in the mind; "We imprint our ideas onto our children" [syn: imprint]

7 give shape to; "form the clay into a head" [ant: deform]

English

Etymology

forme < forma < μόρφα (morfa)

Pronunciation

• (UK) /fɔːm/, /fO:m/
• (US) /fɔɹm/, /fOr\m/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(r)m

Noun

1. The shape or visible structure of a thing or person.
2. A thing that gives shape to other things as in a mold.
3. An order of doing things, as in religious ritual.
4. A blank document or template to be filled in by the user.

   To apply for the position, complete the application form.

5. A grouping of words which maintain grammatical context in different usages.
6. Characteristics not involving atomic components.
7. A criminal record.

   Note, this would usually be stated as "Jim has form", rather than "Jim has a form".

Synonyms

• figure, used when discussing people, not animals
• shape, used on animals and on persons

Translations

Verb

1. To give shape or visible structure to a thing or person.

Synonyms

Related terms

• format
• formula

Anagrams

• from

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

sv-noun-reg-er form form

1. shape

Form may mean:

• Form, the shape, appearance, or configuration, of an object
• Form (furniture), a long seat or bench without a back
• Form (education), a class, set or group of students
• Form, a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass used by a hare
• Form (concrete), a mould used for concrete construction
• Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data
• Plato's Theory of forms
• Form (philosophy)
• Form (religion), an academic term for prescriptions or norms on religious practice
• Form (horse racing), a record of a racehorse's performance
• Musical form, a generic type of composition or the structure of a particular piece
• Form (exercise), a proper way of performing an exercise to avoid injury or cheating
• The Forms (band), an American indie rock band

In martial arts

• Kata (martial arts) (型 or 形), the detailed pattern of defence-and-attack
• Taeguk (Taekwondo) (형), the "forms" used to create a foundation for the teaching of Taekwondo
• Taolu (套路), forms used in Chinese martial arts and sport wushu

In mathematics

• Quadratic form, a homogeneous polynomial of degree two in a number of variables
• Algebraic form, which generalises quadratic forms to degrees 3 and more, also known as quantics or simply forms
• Bilinear form, on a vector space V over a field F is a mapping V × V → F that is linear in both arguments
• Multilinear form, which generalises bilinear forms to mappings VN → F
• Differential form, a concept from differential topology that combines multilinear forms and smooth functions
• Modular form, a (complex) analytic function on the upper half plane satisfying a certain kind of functional equation and growth condition
• Indeterminate form, an algebraic expression that cannot be used to evaluate a limit

In biology

• Form (botany), a formal taxon at a rank lower than species
• Form (zoology), informal taxa used sometimes in zoology

In computing

• Form (web), a document form used on a web page to, typically, submit user data to a server
• Form (programming), a component-based representation of a GUI window
• Form (computer virus), the most common computer virus of the 1990s
• Oracle Forms, a Rapid Application Development environment for developing database applications
• Windows Forms
• XForms, an XML format for the specification of user interfaces, specifically web forms

• Trapcode's Form a particle-based plug-in for several Motion graphic software packages.

See also

• Sixth form, a British term for the final two years of secondary school

Berkeleianism, Hegelianism, Kantianism, MO, Masan, Neoplatonism, Platonic form, Platonic idea, Platonism, Procrustean law, SOP, absolute idealism, accumulate, acquire, act, adjustment, algorithm, allocation, allomorph, allotment, anatomy, angle, animatism, animism, apparition, appear, appearance, apportionment, apprentice, approach, architectonics, architecture, arise, arrange, arrangement, array, arraying, aspect, assemble, astral, astral spirit, attack, attitude, background, background detail, bad condition, banshee, bearing, behavior, bienseance, bill, blank, block out, blood, bod, body, body-build, bones, brand, break, break in, breed, bring up, buckram, build, build up, building, built, burrow, bylaw, canon, canon form, carcass, carriage, carve, cast, cave, ceremonial, ceremoniousness, ceremony, character, chirograph, chisel, civility, clan, class, clay, clod, code, codify, coin, collation, collocation, color, combine, come together, commandment, common practice, complexion, compose, composition, compound, comprise, conceive, concoct, condition, conduct, configuration, conformation, conformity, consist of, constitute, constitution, construct, construction, contour, contract, contrive, control, convenance, convention, conventional usage, conventionalism, conventionality, cool off, corpus, correctness, couch, course, covert, create, creation, criterion, crystallize, cultivate, custom, cut, decency, decorative composition, decorative style, decorousness, decorum, decree, den, denomination, departed spirit, deploy, deployment, deportment, description, design, designation, detail, develop, devise, dictate, dictation, dictum, die, dignity, discipline, disembodied spirit, disposal, dispose, disposition, distribution, docket, document, dossier, draw up, dream up, drill, duppy, duty, dybbuk, earth, economy, edict, effect, effectuate, efform, eidolon, elaborate, elevate, embody, enactment, enter into, envisage, envision, erect, establish, etiquette, evolve, exercise, extrinsicality, extrude, fabric, fabricate, fabrication, facet, fall in, fall into line, fall into place, fall into rank, false image, fantasy, fashion, fashioning, feather, feature, fetch up, fettle, figure, file, fit, fix, flesh, foil, foreground detail, forge, forging, form of worship, formality, formalization, formalize, format, formation, formula, formulary, formulate, formulation, foster, found, frame, framework, fudge together, fugue form, function, gather around, general principle, genre, genus, gestalt, get, get up, getup, ghost, go into, golden rule, good condition, good form, grade, grain, grateful dead, gravity, groom, grow, guide, guideline, guiding principle, guise, habit, hant, harmonize, haunt, hew, hierarchize, hole, holograph, holy rite, house-train, housebreak, hulk, hylozoism, idealism, idolum, ilk, image, imagine, imago, immaterialism, immateriality, imperative, impersonality, impression, improve, inaugurate, incept, incorporate, incorporeal, incorporeal being, incorporeity, indite, install, institute, institution, instrument, intaglio, invent, join, jus, kidney, kin, kind, knead, knock out, label, lair, larva, last, law, law of nature, lay out, legal document, legal instrument, legal paper, legislation, lemures, lex, lick into shape, lied form, light, likeness, line, line of action, line up, lineaments, lines, liturgy, lodge, look, lot, make, make up, makeup, making, manes, manifestation, manner, manner of working, manners, manufacture, mark, marshal, marshaling, material, material body, materialization, materialize, matrix, matter of course, mature, maxim, means, measure, merge in, metaphysical idealism, method, methodize, methodology, mew, mint, mirage, mitzvah, mix, mode, mode of operation, mode of procedure, mode of worship, model, modus operandi, mold, molding, monistic idealism, moral, morph, morpheme, morphemics, morphology, motif, mould, mystery, national style, nature, negative, norm, norma, normalize, number, nurse, nurture, observance, office, official document, oni, order, order of nature, order of worship, ordering, ordinance, ordonnance, organic structure, organism, organization, organize, originate, ornamental motif, outline, pacify, panpsychism, paper, papers, parchment, patch together, pattern, patterning, period style, person, personal file, personalism, persuasion, phantasm, phantasma, phantasmagoria, phantom, phase, phasis, phasm, phenomenon, phylum, physical body, physique, piece together, place itself, placement, plan, plot, poltergeist, pomp, pomposity, pose, practice, precept, prefabricate, prepare, prescribed form, prescript, prescription, presence, primary form, primness, principium, principle, procedure, proceeding, process, produce, production, profile, project, propriety, protocol, psychism, punch, put in tune, put to school, put together, put up, quiet, race, raise, rally round, range itself, rank, ready, realize, rear, receipt, recipe, reference, regard, regimen, regimentation, regularize, regulate, regulation, rehearse, repair, repeated figure, respect, revenant, rigidness, rite, ritual, ritual observance, rituality, roll, rondo form, rough out, roughcast, roughhew, routine, routinize, rubric, rule, ruling, run, run up, sacrament, sacramental, scheme, scrip, script, scroll, sculpt, sculpture, seal, seeming, seemliness, semblance, send to school, serve as, service, set, set form, set up, setting, settled principle, setup, shade, shadow, shape, shape up, shaping, shoe last, show up, shrouded spirit, side, silhouette, simulacrum, skeleton, slant, social convention, social usage, solemnity, solipsism, soma, sonata allegro, sonata form, sort, species, specter, spectral ghost, spirit, spiritualism, spook, sprite, stamp, standard, standard operating procedure, standardize, standing order, standing orders, starchiness, state, statute, stiffness, stiltedness, strain, stripe, structure, structuring, style, stylization, subjectivism, symphonic form, syntax, synthesize, system, systematize, tack, tailor, take form, take in hand, take its place, take order, take rank, take shape, technique, tectonics, template, tenet, tenor, texture, the drill, the how, the like of, the likes of, the way of, theme, theophany, thermoform, tint, tissue, toccata form, tone, torso, total effect, touch, track, train, tranquilize, transcendental, tribe, trim, trunk, tunnel, turn, turn out, twist, type, unite in, universal, universal law, unsubstantiality, usage, variety, view, viewpoint, vision, visualize, waking dream, walking dead man, wandering soul, warp and woof, way, weave, web, weight, whomp up, wildest dream, wise, work, working principle, working rule, wraith, writ, write, writing, zombie