force

force¹ W1S3 [fo:s US fo:rs] n

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1¦(military)¦

2¦(military action)¦

3¦(violence)¦

4¦(physical power)¦

5¦(natural power)¦

6¦(organized group)¦

7¦(strong influence)¦

8¦(powerful effect)¦

9 join/combine forces (with somebody/something)

10 in force

11 come into force/bring something into force

12 by/through/out of force of habit

13 by/through force of circumstance(s)

14¦(wind)¦

15¦(police)¦

16 the forces of good/evil etc

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: Latin fortis 'strong']

1.) ¦(MILITARY)¦

a) [C usually plural]

a group of people who have been trained to do military work for a government or other organization

government/military/defence etc forces

▪ The riots had to be suppressed by government forces.

▪ He strengthened American forces in the Gulf.

▪ a plan to disarm the rebel forces (=those fighting against the government)

b) the forces

BrE the army, navy, and ↑air force

in the forces

▪ Both her sons are in the forces.

c) nuclear/conventional forces

↑nuclear weapons or ordinary weapons

▪ short-range nuclear forces

→↑air force, ↑armed forces, ↑ground forces,peacekeeping force at ↑peacekeeping,security forces at ↑security, ↑task force

2.) ¦(MILITARY ACTION)¦[U]

military action used as a way of achieving your aims

▪ Peace cannot be imposed by force .

▪ The UN will allow the use of force against aircraft violating the zone.

3.) ¦(VIOLENCE)¦[U]

violent physical action used to get what you want

▪ The police used force to overpower the demonstrators.

by force

▪ In the end he had to be thrown out of the house by force.

▪ They kicked the door down using sheer brute force .

4.) ¦(PHYSICAL POWER)¦[U]

the amount of physical power with which something moves or hits another thing

→↑strength force of

▪ The force of the explosion blew out all the windows.

with great/considerable/increasing etc force

▪ He raised his hand and struck her with terrifying force.

5.) ¦(NATURAL POWER)¦ [U and C]

a natural power or event

▪ the force of gravity

▪ powerful natural forces such as earthquakes, floods, and drought

▪ the forces of nature

6.) ¦(ORGANIZED GROUP)¦ [C usually singular]

a group of people who have been trained and organized to do a particular job

▪ the company's sales force

▪ the quality of the teaching force

→↑police force

7.) ¦(STRONG INFLUENCE)¦

something or someone who is powerful and has a lot of influence on the way things happen

the driving force (behind sth/sb)

(=the person or thing that makes something happen)

▪ Betty Coward was the driving force behind the project.

a force for change/peace/democracy etc

(=someone or something that makes change, peace etc more likely to happen)

▪ Healthy competition is a force for innovation.

▪ He's a quick and decisive player - a force to be reckoned with (=a person, team, company etc that influences what happens) .

▪ The fall in prices was due to forces beyond their control .

→↑market forces

8.) ¦(POWERFUL EFFECT)¦[U]

the powerful effect that something has on you

▪ Even after 30 years, the play has lost none of its force.

▪ She was aware of the force of his personality.

9.) join/combine forces (with sb/sth)

to work together so that you can deal with a problem, be more powerful etc

join forces to do sth

▪ Local schools have joined forces with each other to share facilities.

10.) in force

a) if a law, rule etc is in force, it already exists

▪ The trade embargo has been in force for a year.

b) in a large group, especially in order to protest about something

= ↑in large numbers

▪ Villagers turned out in force to protest about the new road.

11.) come into force/bring sth into force

if a new law, rule, change etc comes or is brought into force, it starts to exist

▪ Parking restrictions in the town centre came into force last month.

12.) by/through/out of force of habit

because you have always done a particular thing and it is difficult to change

▪ I get up at 6 o'clock every day from force of habit.

13.) by/through force of circumstance(s)

BrE if something happens by force of circumstance, events outside your control make it happen

14.) ¦(WIND)¦

a) force 8/9/10 etc

a unit for measuring the strength of the wind

b) gale/hurricane force wind

extremely strong wind that does a lot of damage

15.) ¦(POLICE)¦

the force

a word meaning the ↑police force, used especially by police officers

16.) the forces of good/evil etc

literary people or things that increase the amount of good or bad in the world

▪ the battle against the forces of evil

→↑labour force, ↑tour de force, ↑workforce

force ²

force² W1S2 v [T]

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1¦(make somebody do something)¦

2¦(make somebody/something move)¦

3 force your way through/into etc something

4¦(make something happen)¦

5 force a door/lock/window

6 force the issue

7 force somebody's hand

8 force a smile/laugh etc

Phrasal verbs

　force something<=>back

　force something<=>down

　force something on/upon somebody

　force something<=>out of somebody

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1.) ¦(MAKE SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING)¦

to make someone do something they do not want to do

→↑persuade force sb/yourself to do sth

▪ Government troops have forced the rebels to surrender.

▪ Due to the high cost of borrowing, many companies have been forced to close.

▪ I had to force myself to get up this morning.

force sb/sth into (doing) sth

▪ women who are forced into arranged marriages

▪ Bad health forced him into taking early retirement.

2.) ¦(MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING MOVE)¦ [always + adverb/preposition]

to make someone or something move in a particular direction or into a different position, especially through or using great strength

= ↑push

▪ Westerly gales forced the ship off course.

▪ Firemen entering the building were forced back by flames.

▪ She tried to keep the door shut but the man forced it open .

3.) force your way through/into etc sth also force your way in/out/past etc

to push very hard in order to get somewhere

▪ The doctor forced his way through the crowd.

▪ Demonstrators forced their way past.

4.) ¦(MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN)¦

to make something happen or change, especially more quickly than planned or expected

▪ the unfortunate events that forced his resignation

▪ We need to force the pace on alternative energy policies.

force prices/interest rates etc down/up

▪ The effect will be to increase unemployment and force down wages.

5.) force a door/lock/window

to open a door etc using physical strength, often causing damage

▪ I forced the lock on the cupboard to see what was inside.

6.) force the issue

to do something that makes it necessary for someone to make decisions or take action, instead of waiting to see what happens

▪ Polly decided to force the issue by demanding an explanation.

7.) force sb's hand

to make someone do something unwillingly or earlier than they had intended

▪ They're reluctant to sell the house yet but the right offer could force their hand.

8.) force a smile/laugh etc

to make yourself smile, laugh etc even though you feel upset or annoyed

force back [force sth<=>back] phr v

to stop yourself from showing that you are upset or frightened, especially with difficulty

▪ Janet forced back her tears .

force down [force sth<=>down] phr v

1.) to make yourself eat or drink something, although you do not want it

▪ I managed to force down a piece of stale bread.

2.) to make a plane land by threatening to attack it

▪ The hijacked plane was forced down by military jets.

force on/upon [force sth on/upon sb] phr v

to make someone do or accept something even though they do not want to

▪ It's no good trying to force a diet on someone.

▪ people who try to force their own views on you

force out of [force sth<=>out of sb] phr v

to make someone tell you something by asking them many times, threatening them etc

▪ I wasn't going to tell Matt but he forced it out of me.