form

form¹ W1S1 [fo:m US fo:rm] n

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1¦(type)¦

2¦(way something is/appears)¦

3¦(shape)¦

4¦(document)¦

5¦(art/literature)¦

6¦(performance)¦

7¦(school)¦

8¦(grammar)¦

9¦(criminal record)¦

10 bad form

11 form of words

12 be in good/fine/great etc form

13 take form

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: forme, from Latin forma, perhaps from Greek morphe 'form, shape']

1.) ¦(TYPE)¦

a particular type of something that exists in many different varieties

form of

▪ a severe form of cancer

▪ The bicycle is an environment-friendly form of transport.

▪ the art forms of the twentieth century

2.) ¦(WAY SOMETHING IS/APPEARS)¦

the way something is or appears to be

▪ We oppose racism in all its forms.

in the form of sth

▪ People are bombarded with information in the form of TV advertising.

▪ Vitamin C can be taken in capsule or tablet form .

▪ A typical training programme takes the form of a series of workshops.

3.) ¦(SHAPE)¦

a shape

form of

▪ the shadowy forms of the divers swimming below the boat

in the form of sth

▪ The main staircase was in the form of a big 'S'.

▪ The female form is a thing of beauty.

4.) ¦(DOCUMENT)¦

an official document with spaces where you write information, especially about yourself

▪ Application forms are available from the college.

▪ Just complete the entry form (=write the answers to the questions on a form) and return it.

fill in/out a form

(=write the answers to the questions on a form)

▪ Fill in the form and send it back with your cheque.

5.) ¦(ART/LITERATURE)¦[U]

the structure of a work of art or piece of writing, rather than the ideas it expresses, events it describes etc

▪ the distinction between form and content

6.) ¦(PERFORMANCE)¦[U]

how well a sports person, team, musician etc is performing, or has performed recently

▪ I have been greatly encouraged by the team's recent form.

on present/current/past etc form

▪ On current form he's one of the top three players in the country.

in good/fine/great form

▪ He's been in good form all this season.

▪ He had no qualms about dropping players he thought were off form (=not performing well) .

7.) ¦(SCHOOL)¦ BrE

a class in a school

first/second/sixth etc form

▪ examinations taken in the fourth form

→↑form teacher

8.) ¦(GRAMMAR)¦

a way of writing or saying a word that shows its number, tense etc. For example, 'was' is a past form of the verb 'to be'.

9.) ¦(CRIMINAL RECORD)¦[U]

BrE informal if someone has form, they are known to the police because they have committed crimes in the past

10.) bad form

old-fashioned behaviour that is considered to be socially unacceptable

= ↑bad manners

▪ It used to be considered bad form to talk about money.

11.) form of words

a way of expressing something official

= ↑wording

▪ The precise form of words has been agreed by the 12 heads of government.

12.) be in good/fine/great etc form also be on good/fine/great etc form BrE

to be full of confidence and energy, so that you do something well or talk in an interesting or amusing way

▪ Michelle was in great form at last week's conference.

13.) take form

a) to begin to exist or develop

▪ The womb represents the very first place in which life takes form.

b) to start to become a particular shape

▪ As the men worked, I watched the ship's hull take form.

→true to form at ↑true¹ (7)

form ²

form² W1S1 v

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1¦(establish)¦

2¦(be part of something)¦

3¦(start to exist)¦

4¦(make/produce)¦

5¦(shape/line)¦

6¦(relationship)¦

7 form an opinion/impression/idea

8¦(influence)¦

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1.) ¦(ESTABLISH)¦ [T]

to establish an organization, committee, government etc

▪ The winning party will form the government.

▪ CARE was formed in 1946 and helps the poor in 38 countries.

2.) ¦(BE PART OF SOMETHING)¦ [linking verb]

to be the thing, or one of the things, that is part of something else, often having a particular use

▪ Love and trust should form the basis of a marriage.

▪ The project forms part of a larger project investigating the history of the cinema.

▪ The river formed a natural boundary between the two countries.

3.) ¦(START TO EXIST)¦ [I,T ]

to start to exist, or make something start to exist, especially as the result of a natural process

▪ The rocks were formed more than 4000 million years ago.

▪ By midnight ice was already forming on the roads.

▪ Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide combine to form acid rain.

4.) ¦(MAKE/PRODUCE)¦ [T]

to make something by combining two or more parts

▪ In English the past tense of a verb is usually formed by adding 'ed'.

5.) ¦(SHAPE/LINE)¦ [I and T]

to come together in a particular shape or line, or to make something have a particular shape

= ↑make

▪ Film-goers began to form a line outside the cinema.

▪ Cut off the corners of the square to form a diamond.

6.) ¦(RELATIONSHIP)¦ [T]

to establish and develop a relationship with someone

▪ She seemed incapable of forming any relationships.

▪ On returning to Boston, she formed a close friendship with her aunt.

7.) form an opinion/impression/idea

to use available information to develop or reach an opinion or idea

▪ She formed the opinion that one of the pupils was bullying the other.

8.) ¦(INFLUENCE)¦ [T]

to have a strong influence on how someone's character develops and the type of person they become

= ↑mould

▪ Events in early childhood often help to form our personalities in later life.