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
-
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:
The shape of the yield curve is a major driver – when it flattens, it tends to indicate 10-year yields will drop.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
That’s roughly 300 acres, encompassing the parking lots, the hillsides meeting the 110 Freeway, and 149 concrete planters nicknamed “martinis” for their glass-like shape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Law students educated in this way will be grounded in ethical and principled reasoning and adept at navigating an era when AI tools stand to shape changes in the practice of their profession.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
He was expected to whip the White House and the chaotic president into shape.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
“Uh, I’m not in good enough shape to run more than three miles. I’ve barely run at all lately.”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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
State, and there, in 1952, he heard from Dwight, then in Paris commanding SHAPE.
From Time Magazine Archive
He talked of countermeasures: a new unified command of satellite armies to offset SHAPE.
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 Jean Macé
His latest book examines leaders in government, business and other fields to determine how the interplay of personal talent and historical circumstance shapes success or failure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
When laser light was directed at the structures, the resulting diffraction patterns formed distinctive pinwheel-like shapes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
The shapes and positions outlined above give United's players a framework to start from.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
I’m hoping people see that all the colors and shapes and how bedazzled I am is a reflection of my identity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
The walls were lined with shelves and crammed with jars of all shapes and colors, gathered from Deadwood Dump and filled with dried fungi.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The Qumran calendar differed sharply from the lunisolar calendar that shaped Jewish religious life during the Second Temple period.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Nick Robinson has a conversation with, not an interrogation of, the people who shape our political thinking about what shaped theirs.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
It arrives as audiences and filmmakers signal an openness to revisiting stories about women long shaped by men accustomed to processing female identity through a saint-sinner binary.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
“We see the immediate gold-price setup being shaped by three measurable forces: Treasury yields, the U.S. dollar, and demand for safe-haven assets,” Zaye Capital Markets chief investment officer Naeem Aslam says in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
“The fisherman said it’s a rock shaped like an elephant,” continued Marco.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
Gold futures settled lower, snapping a three-session winning streak amid “several conflicting fundamental factors are shaping the market between support and pressure,” XS.com said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Which communities help reveal what is shaping voters’ lives and decisions?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
So how are they shaping up after their latest round of club games?
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
It keeps people anchored to Earth, guides planets around the Sun, helps gather stars into galaxies, and plays a central role in shaping the enormous cosmic web of galaxy clusters that stretches across the universe.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
My work, which had appeared so vague, so hopelessly diffuse, condensed itself as he proceeded, and assumed a definite form under his shaping hand.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
