force

American  

[fawrs] / fɔrs /

noun

• forces
  plural

1. physical power or strength possessed by a living being.

   He used all his force in opening the window.

2. strength or power exerted upon a person; physical coercion; violence.

   The campus police are legally authorized to use force to defend themselves or others.

3. strength; energy; power; intensity.

   She had a personality of great force that helped her succeed as a leader.

   Synonyms:

   vigor

4. power to influence, affect, or control; efficacious power.

   They were strangers brought together by the force of circumstances.

   UNESCO is calling on countries to increase political commitment to education as a force for inclusion.

   Synonyms:

   authority, influence, constraint

5. Law. unlawful violence threatened or committed against persons or property.

6. persuasive power; power to convince.

   They felt the force of his arguments.

   Synonyms:

   validity, potency, cogency, effectiveness, efficacy

   Antonyms:

   impotence

7. mental or moral strength.

   It requires great force of character to go against the crowd.

8. might, as of a ruler or realm; strength for war.

   The government hoped a show of force at sea would prevent an invasion by scaring off the opposing side.

9. Often forces or Forces the people and resources that make up the military, especially of a nation.

   After the surrender, the invaders withdrew the majority of their forces, but left garrisons in place.

10. Often the force or the Force the police force.

    She was a police officer for twenty years, but retired from the force a year ago.

11. any body of persons combined for joint action.

    We have a sales force of one hundred people spread all across the state.

12. intensity or strength of effect.

    The force of her acting was such that I nearly forgot I was watching a film.

13. Physics.

    1. an influence on a body or system, producing or tending to produce a change in movement or in shape or other effects.

    2. the intensity of such an influence. F, f

14. any influence or agency analogous to physical force.

    Two powerful social forces, consumerism and economic anxiety, are clashing as a recession looms.

15. binding power, as of a contract or law.

    The The Data Protection Act 2018 was passed by the British Parliament in 2016 and came into force on May 25, 2018.

16. value; significance; meaning.

    The force of his message was lost on me—I didn't understand a word he said.

17. Baseball. force play.

18. Billiards. a sharp stroke hitting a cue ball directly below the center in such a manner as to cause it to stop abruptly, bound back, or roll off to one side after hitting the object ball.

19. the Force, in the fictional Star Wars universe, a metaphysical energy that connects all living things and can be used for feats such as telekinesis, telepathy, influencing the minds of others, etc.

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verb (used with object)

• forces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forced,
  past participle,  past
• forcing
  present participle

1. to compel, constrain, or oblige (oneself or another person) to do something.

   They lied to force the suspect to confess.

   Synonyms:

   coerce

2. to drive or propel against resistance.

   He forced his way through the crowd.

   They forced air into his lungs.

3. to bring about or effect by force.

   The general's gunboats attacked the fort on February 6, and forced a surrender.

4. to bring about from necessity or as a necessary result.

   Raising interest rates is one of the most reliable ways to force a slowdown in the housing market.

5. to bring about (a reaction, emotion, etc.) against natural inclination.

   She had to force a smile in the midst of her sadness.

   He forced a laugh at his companion's terrible joke.

6. to put or impose (something or someone) forcibly on a person.

   His habit of forcing his opinions on others made him difficult to work with.

7. to compel by force; overcome resistance to (an action or practice).

   During this period of religious instability in England, monarchs tried to force acceptance of their chosen church through law.

8. to obtain or draw forth by or as if by force; extort.

   They forced a testimony out of the reluctant witness.

9. to break open (a door, lock, etc.).

   The thieves forced the lock, so we'll have to completely replace it.

10. to cause (plants, fruits, etc.) to grow or mature at an increased rate by artificial means.

    You can force rhubarb for an earlier harvest by covering the crowns in the late winter.

11. to enter or take by force; overpower.

    They forced the town after a long siege.

    Synonyms:

    rape, plunder, violate, overcome

12. to press, urge, or exert to violent effort or to the utmost.

    The auctioneer displays refreshing charm and wit as he forces the bidding and drives the price higher and higher.

13. to use force upon.

14. rape.

15. Baseball.

    1. to cause (a base runner) to be put out by obliging the runner, as by a ground ball, to vacate a base and attempt to move to the next base in order to make room for another runner or the batter.

    2. to cause (a base runner or run) to score, as by walking a batter with the bases full (often followed byin ).

16. Cards.

    1. to compel (a player) to trump by leading a suit of which the player has no cards.

    2. to compel a player to play (a particular card).

    3. to compel (a player) to play so as to make known the strength of the hand.

17. Photography.

    1. to develop (a print or negative) for longer than usual in order to increase density or bring out details.

    2. to bring out underexposed parts of (a print or negative) by adding alkali to the developer.

18. Archaic. to give force to; strengthen; reinforce.

verb (used without object)

• forces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forced,
  past participle,  past
• forcing
  present participle

1. to make one's way by force.

   He saw her car force through the crowd.

idioms

1. in force,

   1. in operation; effective.

      This ancient rule is no longer in force.

   2. in large numbers; at full strength.

      They attacked in force.

force ¹ British  

/ fɔːs /

noun

1. (in northern England) a waterfall

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force ² British  

/ fɔːs /

noun

1. strength or energy; might; power

   the force of the blow

   a gale of great force

2. exertion or the use of exertion against a person or thing that resists; coercion

3. physics

   1. a dynamic influence that changes a body from a state of rest to one of motion or changes its rate of motion. The magnitude of the force is equal to the product of the mass of the body and its acceleration

   2. F. a static influence that produces an elastic strain in a body or system or bears weight

4. physics any operating influence that produces or tends to produce a change in a physical quantity

   electromotive force

   coercive force

5. 1. intellectual, social, political, or moral influence or strength

      the force of his argument

      the forces of evil

   2. a person or thing with such influence

      he was a force in the land

6. vehemence or intensity

   he spoke with great force

7. a group of persons organized for military or police functions

   armed forces

8. informal (sometimes capital) the police force

9. a group of persons organized for particular duties or tasks

   a workforce

10. criminal law violence unlawfully committed or threatened

11. philosophy logic that which an expression is normally used to achieve See speech act illocution perlocution

12. 1. (of a law) having legal validity or binding effect

    2. in great strength or numbers

13. to combine strengths, efforts, etc

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verb

1. to compel or cause (a person, group, etc) to do something through effort, superior strength, etc; coerce

2. to acquire, secure, or produce through effort, superior strength, etc

   to force a confession

3. to propel or drive despite resistance

   to force a nail into wood

4. to break down or open (a lock, safe, door, etc)

5. to impose or inflict

   he forced his views on them

6. to cause (plants or farm animals) to grow or fatten artificially at an increased rate

7. to strain or exert to the utmost

   to force the voice

8. to rape; ravish

9. cards

   1. to compel (a player) to trump in order to take a trick

   2. to compel a player by the lead of a particular suit to play (a certain card)

   3. (in bridge) to induce (a bid) from one's partner by bidding in a certain way

10. to make oneself smile

11. to compel an aircraft to land

12. to adopt a high speed or rate of procedure

force Scientific  

/ fôrs /

1. Any of various factors that cause a body to change its speed, direction, or shape. Force is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and direction. Contributions of force from different sources can be summed to give the net force at any given point.

2. Any of the four natural phenomena involving the interaction between particles of matter. From the strongest to the weakest, the four forces are the strong nuclear force, the electromagnetic force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity.

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force Cultural  

1. In physics, something that causes a change in the motion of an object. The modern definition of force (an object's mass multiplied by its acceleration) was given by Isaac Newton in Newton's laws of motion. The most familiar unit of force is the pound. (See mechanics.)

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force More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing force

• brute force
• driving force
• in force
• join forces
• reckon with (force to be reckoned with)

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Synonym Usage

See strength.

Discover More

Gravity, and therefore weight, is a kind of force.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• forcer
  noun
• interforce
  noun
• overforce
  noun
• overforce
  verb
• forceable
  adjective
• forceless
  adjective
• unforceable
  adjective
• unforcing
  adjective
• forcingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• forces
  plural

Participles

• forcing
  present
• forced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• force
  simple
• forces
  simple
• have forced
  perfect
• has forced
  perfect
• am forcing
  progressive
• are forcing
  progressive
• is forcing
  progressive
• have been forcing
  perfect progressive
• has been forcing
  perfect progressive

Past

• forced
  simple
• had forced
  perfect
• was forcing
  progressive
• were forcing
  progressive
• had been forcing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will force
  simple
• will have forced
  perfect
• will be forcing
  progressive
• will have been forcing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of force

First recorded in 1300–50; (for the noun) Middle English force, fors, from Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin fortia, derivative of Latin fortis “strong”; verb derivative of the noun

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Explanation

Force describes a physical energy that can be seen or felt. If you've ever walked outside in a blizzard, you've experienced the force, or strength, of the wind. May the force be with you! Force has other meanings as well. A powerful person can exert a force just by using particular words or body language. Written words can exert a force, or have a strong influence, on your opinion. As a verb, force means to make something happen using physical strength or some other powerful effort, which is what you do when you try to force a square peg into a round hole through vigorous pounding. And of course, in the Star Wars movie franchise, the force refers to the mystical energy contained in all living things. May that definition of this word always be with you.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

force forces forced forcing

Lift is the aerodynamic force that helps keep a bird airborne.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

He’s just done it more quietly, without attaching the force of his weird personality as a condition.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

At 6-foot-3 with the route-running ability that once made scouts slack-jawed, he still possesses the skills to be a game-changing force at 24.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Thames Valley Police force said it accepted that the "initial court's decision to issue warrants under the specific piece of legislation used was incorrect" before they searched the properties.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

A contingent of German soldiers seemed to be supplementing the regular police force.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Security forces scrambled to protect the Élysée Palace and other sensitive sites as protesters sought to converge on government buildings, according to French officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Recognizing its importance to Germany's nuclear ambitions, Allied forces targeted the plant through sabotage and bombing operations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

As Israeli forces arrive, the standoff explodes into action.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Prince's group is said to have supported Congolese special operations forces and army units with drone surveillance and other technical assistance."

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Theoretically, the nation that has its forces ready first gains a huge military advantage.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

The BBC recently reported on residents there being forced to eat garden weeds to survive.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Protesters broke into the town hall of France's second-largest city of Marseille before being forced out by police.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Severe morning sickness forced her to leave school and cost her a job.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

Under the Investment Canada Act, the government’s options in court include seeking financial penalties, forcing the company to abide by commitments and a forced divestiture of the Canadian assets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

I explained to him that it was a trick, that I had been forced into it and did not want to go on with it.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

We’d set the GPS to lead us to Valagil, a narrow waterfall forcing its way through a tight canyon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Across Spain, soaring rents and a shortage of affordable homes are forcing people to delay starting families, putting pressure on households with children and leaving young people struggling to set up on their own.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Bass told the councilmember she had been “contemptuous of her constituents,” forcing residents of her district to reach out to the mayor’s office for city services.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Launch valve: releases steam into the catapult, forcing the shuttle forward.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

The entire momentum of her body went into a sharp twist, literally forcing Stubble Chin into trying a backflip.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

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Related Words

• cause
• charge
• compel
• demand
• drag
• drive
• impose
• inflict
• limit
• make
• move
• oblige
• order
• press
• pressure
• require
• restrict
• urge

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