shape

[ sheyp ]

/ ʃeɪp /

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See synonyms for shape on Thesaurus.com

noun

the quality of a distinct object or body in having an external surface or outline of specific form or figure.

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), shaped, shap·ing.

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), shaped, shap·ing.

to come to a desired conclusion or take place in a specified way: If discussions shape properly, the companies will merge.

Verb Phrases

shape up,

to assume a specific form: The plan is beginning to shape up.
to evolve or develop, especially favorably.
to improve one's behavior or performance to meet a required standard.
to get oneself into good physical condition.
(of longshoremen) to get into a line or formation in order to be assigned the day's work.

OTHER WORDS FOR shape

1 silhouette, appearance.

4 specter, illusion.

7 order, pattern.

8 order, situation.

14 mold, model.

See synonyms for shape on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about shape

take shape, to assume a fixed form; become definite: The house is beginning to take shape.

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”

synonym study for shape

1. See form.

OTHER WORDS FROM shape

shap·a·ble, shape·a·ble, adjectiveoutshape, verb (used with object), out·shaped, out·shap·ing.pre·shape, noun, verb (used with object), pre·shaped, pre·shap·ing.trans·shape, verb (used with object), trans·shaped, trans·shap·ing.

un·shap·a·ble, adjectiveun·shape·a·ble, adjectiveun·shap·ing, adjective

Other definitions for shape (2 of 2)

SHAPE

or Shape

[ sheyp ]

/ ʃeɪp /

noun

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shape in a sentence

I was in great shape for rugby, my job in construction and then as a police officer.
The Gym-Free Pandemic Workout: Kettlebells, Indian Clubs, Sandbags, Oh My!|Eugene Robinson|August 25, 2020|Ozy
However, consumers don’t land on the pages but look for a particular product with a specific design, color, shape, etc.
SEO tips for your retail store|Content Media|August 17, 2020|Search Engine Watch
While much of the US continues to cry out for racial justice, a quieter conversation is taking shape about face recognition technology and the police.
There is a crisis of face recognition and policing in the US|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Leave computers out of it, and all of a sudden US manufacturing appeared to be in very bad shape.
Unmade in America|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review

A big part of learning to draw involves learning to pay attention to the shapes on our retina.
This Vision Experiment Resolved a Centuries-Old Philosophical Debate - Facts So Romantic|Jim Davies|August 14, 2020|Nautilus
"We live on enormous territory, our eyes have different shapes, we believe in different religions," she said.
Rebranding The Land of Mongol Warriors & Ivan The Terrible|Anna Nemtsova|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Traditional coach seats gave the illusion of comfortable padding but were angular, not reflecting body shapes.
Flying Coach Is the New Hell: How Airlines Engineer You Out of Room|Clive Irving|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Picasso worked from the photograph to create the blocked, jagged shapes he painted on canvas.
Revealing The Unseen Picasso|Justin Jones|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Either way, it highlights the subtle and fascinating way life shapes—as well as being shaped by—its environment.
Why Did It Take So Long For Complex Life To Evolve On Earth? Blame Oxygen.|Matthew R. Francis|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Her paintings and paints in the palest colors, and simplest shapes, pretty much covered the studio,” Bradlee wrote.
The Bizarre Tale of Ben Bradlee, JFK, and the Master Spy|Will Rahn|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The pipes are of various shapes and sizes and are arranged in ranks or rows upon the wind-chest.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
The tobacco is worked into both cigars and cheroots both of which have a variety of shapes.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
One resource so influential that it often shapes the economic pattern of a state is soil.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
It's seeing people and objects in their weird entirety, in their true and complete shapes, that is so distressing.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
Coming to the first of the dim shapes, he grasped it and thereby propelled the skiff to another beyond.
Dope|Sax Rohmer

British Dictionary definitions for shape (1 of 2)

shape

/ (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 formmy plans are taking shape

the form that anything assumes; guise

something used to provide or define form; pattern; mould

condition or state of efficiencyto be in good shape

out of shape

in bad physical condition
bent, twisted, or deformed

take shape to assume a definite form

verb

(when intr, often foll by into or up) to receive or cause to receive shape or form

(tr) to mould into a particular pattern or form; modify

(tr) to plan, devise, or prepareto shape a plan of action

an obsolete word for appoint

Derived forms of shape

shapable or shapeable, adjectiveshaper, noun

Word Origin for shape

Old English gesceap, literally: that which is created, from scieppan to create; related to sceap sexual organs, Old Norse skap destiny, Old High German scaf form

British Dictionary definitions for shape (2 of 2)

SHAPE

/ (ʃeɪp) /

n acronym for

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with shape

shape

In addition to the idiom beginning with shape

shape up

also see:

bent out of shape
in condition (shape)
lick into shape
take shape

shape

OTHER WORDS FOR shape

Idioms about shape

Origin of shape

synonym study for shape

OTHER WORDS FROM shape

Other definitions for shape (2 of 2)

or Shape

Words related to shape

How to use shape in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shape (1 of 2)

Derived forms of shape

Word Origin for shape

British Dictionary definitions for shape (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with shape