pro forma
Americanadjective
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according to form; as a matter of form; for the sake of form.
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Commerce. provided in advance of shipment and merely showing the description and quantity of goods shipped without terms of payment.
a pro forma invoice.
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Accounting. indicating hypothetical financial figures based on previous business operations for estimate purposes.
a pro forma balance sheet.
adverb
noun
adjective
adverb
Etymology
Origin of pro forma
First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin prō formā
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.
The new entity, operating under the name BMG, will generate pro forma revenue of $2.2 billion, and $730 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2026.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
On a pro forma basis, excluding the assets it spun off earlier this year into a company called Versant, revenue rose 11%.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
The stock won’t be valued cheaply at close to 30 times trailing adjusted pro forma net income for 2025, Barron’s estimates.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
During an appearance at the Mobile World Congress, Carr suggested the Paramount-Warner deal could be swiftly approved because the foreign investment would warrant only a “very quick, almost pro forma review,” Carr reportedly said.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
But once again the doom and gloom was mostly pro forma.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
