pro forma
[ proh -fawr-muh ]
/ proʊ ˈfɔr mə /
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adjective
according to form; as a matter of form; for the sake of form.
Commerce. provided in advance of shipment and merely showing the description and quantity of goods shipped without terms of payment: a pro forma invoice.
Accounting. indicating hypothetical financial figures based on previous business operations for estimate purposes: a pro forma balance sheet.
adverb
as a matter of form: Many of the school assignments appear to be done pro forma.
noun plural pro for·ma, pro for·mas.
a pro forma document.
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Also pro·for·ma (for defs. 2, 3, 5) .
Origin of pro forma
First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin prō formā
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
British Dictionary definitions for pro forma
pro forma
/ (ˈprəʊ ˈfɔːmə) /
adjective
prescribing a set form or procedure
adverb
performed in a set manner
Word Origin for pro forma
Latin: for form's sake
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for pro forma
pro forma
[ (proh fawr-muh) ]
Doing something pro forma means satisfying only the minimum requirements of a task and doing it in a perfunctory way: “Her welcoming address was strictly pro forma: you could tell that her mind was a million miles away.” From Latin, meaning “by form.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.