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
[shayp]
/ 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
[shayp]
/ 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)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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 refresh, according to Global Managing Partner Alan Mason, reflects the firm’s “ambition to remain at the forefront of law, adapt to changing client needs and help shape the future of legal services.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
This provided clues about the shape of the space that once housed the dinosaur's brain.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Its galaxies are continuing to come together as the larger cluster takes shape.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Previously, plastic surgery had attempted to reconstruct "some semblance of an ear" using skin and tissue taken from other parts of his body, but the results could not replicate the shape of a natural ear.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Every age and shape and size. Lots of different languages and foods and clothes, and they’re all here.”
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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
I thought that my trip from SHAPE, Paris to support the vital Mutual Security Act served a useful purpose.
From Time Magazine Archive
Once he sets foot ashore he will inevitably be subjected to the give & take of press conferences without the protective screen of SHAPE.
From Time Magazine Archive
At first the pool seems dark— A cloud perchance swift coursing o'er the moon— And, only dimly visible, A SHAPE!
From Myra's Well A Tale of All-Hallow-E'en by George Francis Dawson
Its gravity helps hold galaxies together and shapes the universe's enormous network of galaxy groups, clusters, and filaments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
But the country should also have more representative—and more female—legislatures because women really do have life experiences that are different than men’s, and that shapes how we understand politics, policy, and the law.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
Growing up down south forever shapes your language, work ethic, appreciation for how hard life can be and so much more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
An owner shapes the direction of a club from a little further back.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Akiko was the first to notice the rows of dark shapes.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
Pringles’ Halloween sweepstake promises one winner a metal urn shaped like the brand’s cylindrical cans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
By connecting the newly analyzed Chang'e-6 samples with the Moon's early thermal history, the findings offer fresh insight into the processes that shaped Earth's closest celestial neighbor.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Communities are shaped by the ways we participate in them.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
In The Party, Evans, 47, stars as Martin Gilmour, a journalist shaped by his lifelong friendship with a wealthy and charismatic politician played by Aberystwyth-born Tom Cullen.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
There, below a big red boulder shaped like a sleeping auroch, lay two drowned wolves like sodden fur cloaks.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The current El Nino event, which emerged in June, is expected to peak later this year but is already shaping up to be the strongest ever observed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
"The soft palate and the shaping of the oral cavity and pharynx are directly linked to the evolution of mammals."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
And if struggling is how Mona will mold herself for the theater — stretching and shaping her performance into something worthy of the greater New Jersey area’s most prolific stage — so be it.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
“We want mathematicians to be at the center of shaping the answers.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
When we were little, we practiced our second arcana by manipulating paint on a canvas, shaping clay on a pottery wheel, and molding fresh-dipped candlesticks, until we were able to transform them into treasures.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
