shape
noun
the quality of a distinct object or body in having an external surface or outline of specific form or figure.
shape
1 American
[sheyp]
/ ʃeɪp /
noun
-
shapes
plural
-
the quality of a distinct object or body in having an external surface or outline of specific form or figure.
- Synonyms:
- appearance, silhouette
-
this quality as found in some individual object or body form.
This lake has a peculiar shape.
-
something seen in outline, as in silhouette.
A vague shape appeared through the mist.
-
an imaginary form; phantom.
-
an assumed appearance; guise.
an angel in the shape of a woman.
-
a particular or definite organized form or expression.
He could give no shape to his ideas.
-
proper form; orderly arrangement.
-
condition or state of repair.
The old house was in bad shape. He was sick last year, but is in good shape now.
-
the collective conditions forming a way of life or mode of existence.
What will the shape of the future be?
-
the figure, physique, or body of a person, especially of a woman.
A dancer can keep her shape longer than those of us who have sedentary jobs.
-
something used to give form, as a mold or a pattern.
-
Also called section. Building Trades, Metalworking. a flanged metal beam or bar of uniform section, as a channel iron, I-beam, etc.
-
Nautical. a ball, cone, drum, etc., used as a day signal, singly or in combinations, to designate a vessel at anchor or engaged in some particular operation.
verb (used with object)
-
shapes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shaped,
past participle, past
-
shaping
present participle
-
to give definite form, shape, organization, or character to; fashion or form.
-
to couch or express in words.
to shape a statement.
-
to adjust; adapt.
He shaped everything to suit his taste.
-
to direct (one's course, future, etc.).
-
to file the teeth of (a saw) to uniform width after jointing.
-
Animal Behavior, Psychology. to teach (a desired behavior) to a human or other animal by successively rewarding the actions that more and more closely approximate that behavior.
-
Obsolete. to appoint; decree.
verb (used without object)
-
shapes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shaped,
past participle, past
-
shaping
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
SHAPE
2
American
[sheyp]
/ ʃeɪp /
Or
Shape
noun
shape
1
British
/ ʃeɪp /
noun
-
the outward form of an object defined by outline
-
the figure or outline of the body of a person
-
a phantom
-
organized or definite form
my plans are taking shape
-
the form that anything assumes; guise
-
something used to provide or define form; pattern; mould
-
condition or state of efficiency
to be in good shape
-
-
in bad physical condition
-
bent, twisted, or deformed
-
-
to assume a definite form
verb
-
to receive or cause to receive shape or form
-
(tr) to mould into a particular pattern or form; modify
-
(tr) to plan, devise, or prepare
to shape a plan of action
-
an obsolete word for appoint
SHAPE
2
British
/ ʃeɪp /
acronym
shape
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
See form.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preshapenoun
-
shapernoun
-
outshapeverb (used with object)
-
transshapeverb (used with object)
-
shapableadjective
-
shapeableadjective
-
unshapableadjective
-
unshapeableadjective
-
unshapingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shapesimple
-
shapessimple
-
have shapedperfect
-
has shapedperfect
-
am shapingprogressive
-
are shapingprogressive
-
is shapingprogressive
-
have been shapingperfect progressive
-
has been shapingperfect progressive
Past
-
shapedsimple
-
had shapedperfect
-
was shapingprogressive
-
were shapingprogressive
-
had been shapingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shape
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English gesceapu (plural); replacing dialectal shap, Middle English; Old English gesceap (singular); cognate with Old Norse skap “state, mood”; (verb) Middle English; Old English sceapen (past participle); replacing Middle English sheppe, shippe, Old English sceppan, scyppan; cognate with German schaffen, Old Norse skepja, Gothic -skapjan “to make”
Explanation
The form of something gives it its shape. Basic shapes include the square, the circle, and the triangle. You may have a nose the shape of a ski slope. When you admire someone's shape, you're admiring their form, or their body. When you're out of shape or vowing to get back into shape, you're using shape to refer to your physical stamina or overall health. You can shape something by giving it form, as in "shape the dough into a braided twist," or influence someone, as in a teacher who shapes young minds.
Vocabulary lists containing shape
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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Close Reading: The Art and Craft of Rhetorical Analysis (Chapter 2)
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Public understanding of AI will shape corporate investment, regulation, education and public trust.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
To better understand how those conditions shape teamwork, an international research group studied a ten-month overwintering mission at Concordia Station in Antarctica.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
It can be "necessity for the poor, meditation for some, an act of resistance for others and a path to discovery. Walking, they noted, also helped shape India's freedom struggle".
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Its size, shape and deck colour are consistent with earlier satellite observations of the Caroline Bezengi before it turned off its AIS transponder signal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
The house was in worse shape than the barn.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Back at SHAPE, the most important faces in the crowd are not celebrities or cool kids.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 6, 2019
Naval Academy, for example, requires all midshipmen to participate in a four-year sexual harassment and assault curriculum, known as Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Education, or SHAPE.
From US News ● May 20, 2015
He talked of countermeasures: a new unified command of satellite armies to offset SHAPE.
From Time Magazine Archive
I thought that my trip from SHAPE, Paris to support the vital Mutual Security Act served a useful purpose.
From Time Magazine Archive
As to SHAPE, imagine two large, elongated packets, flat inside, descending right and left, inside the breast, and bearing the heart, suspended between the two, in the middle.
From The History of a Mouthful of Bread And its effect on the organization of men and animals by Macé, Jean
Together, these papers provide new insight into how the genome's 3D organization shapes human development, aging, and numerous diseases.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Loudcasting has piqued the interest of experts who study how technology shapes our behaviours, and they agree there's a strong generational factor.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Fight choreography was made to look more like brawling, with Chau noting performers dialed back “strong shapes, motions and lines” into characters that are “a little bit more broken down” to underscore the noir aesthetic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The meaning of the geometric shapes and animal outlines remains a mystery, with some believing they had ritual astronomical functions, according to UNESCO, which declared the area a World Heritage site in 1994.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
We studied the lines, angles, orbits, and shapes of outer space.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
A person's dementia risk is shaped partly by factors that cannot be altered, including age, gender and genetics.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
The company further noted “viral moments” around Tags, which are Cash App payment products shaped like wands or other fun form factors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
When the cooking resumes, several salmon cakes have already been shaped and set aside.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Barcola is a left winger by trade, having played almost all of his Champions League minutes for PSG on that flank, but his game is shaped by a centre-forward's instincts.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
More than anything else, Japan has been shaped by the push and pull of plate tectonics.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Taylor has played a central role in shaping FanDuel’s recent sportsbook improvement plan, which the company said is showing encouraging early signs of momentum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The coming weeks are shaping up to be a critical stretch for the $30 trillion Treasury market, widely considered the bedrock of the global financial system.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
In other words, to the extent bombing had an effect on the war, it was by assisting the ground war—not by shaping the course of the war from the sky on its own.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
The results show that the genes a person is born with can interact with mutations acquired later in life, shaping the evolutionary path a tumor follows.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
When Odysseus came, the good servant sat shaping to his feet oxhide for sandals, cutting the well-cured leather.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
