Definitions for formation
fɔrˈmeɪ ʃənfor·ma·tion

Princeton's WordNet(3.40 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. formationnoun

   an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit

   "a defensive formation"; "a formation of planes"

2. formation, shapingnoun

   the act of fabricating something in a particular shape

3. constitution, establishment, formation, organization, organisationnoun

   the act of forming or establishing something

   "the constitution of a PTA group last year"; "it was the establishment of his reputation"; "he still remembers the organization of the club"

4. geological formation, formationnoun

   (geology) the geological features of the earth

5. formationnoun

   a particular spatial arrangement

6. formationnoun

   natural process that causes something to form

   "the formation of gas in the intestine"; "the formation of crystals"; "the formation of pseudopods"

7. formationnoun

   creation by mental activity

   "the formation of sentences"; "the formation of memories"

Wiktionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. formationnoun

   Something possessing structure or form.

   Etymology: From formation, from formatio, from formare; see form as verb.

2. formationnoun

   The act of assembling a group or structure.

   Etymology: From formation, from formatio, from formare; see form as verb.

3. formationnoun

   A rock or face of a mountain.

   Etymology: From formation, from formatio, from formare; see form as verb.

4. formationnoun

   A grouping of military units or smaller formations under a command, such as a brigade, division, wing, etc.

   Etymology: From formation, from formatio, from formare; see form as verb.

5. formationnoun

   An arrangement of moving troops, ships, or aircraft, such as a wedge, line abreast, or echelon. Often "in formation".

   Etymology: From formation, from formatio, from formare; see form as verb.

6. formationnoun

   The process of influencing or guiding a person to a deeper understanding of a particular vocation.

   Etymology: From formation, from formatio, from formare; see form as verb.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Formationnoun

   the act of giving form or shape to anything; a forming; a shaping

   Etymology: [L. formatio: cf. F. formation.]

2. Formationnoun

   the manner in which a thing is formed; structure; construction; conformation; form; as, the peculiar formation of the heart

   Etymology: [L. formatio: cf. F. formation.]

3. Formationnoun

   a substance formed or deposited

   Etymology: [L. formatio: cf. F. formation.]

4. Formationnoun

   mineral deposits and rock masses designated with reference to their origin; as, the siliceous formation about geysers; alluvial formations; marine formations

   Etymology: [L. formatio: cf. F. formation.]

5. Formationnoun

   a group of beds of the same age or period; as, the Eocene formation

   Etymology: [L. formatio: cf. F. formation.]

6. Formationnoun

   the arrangement of a body of troops, as in a square, column, etc

   Etymology: [L. formatio: cf. F. formation.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Formation

   A formation in American football refers to the position players line up in before the start of a down. There are both offensive and defensive formations and there are many formations in both categories.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. formation

   1. An ordered arrangement of troops and/or vehicles for a specific purpose. 2. An ordered arrangement of two or more ships, units, or aircraft proceeding together under a commander.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. formation

   The drawing up or arrangement of troops, or small-arm men, in certain orders prescribed as the basis of manœuvres in general. Also, the particulars of a ship's build.

Editors Contribution(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. formation

   The act and process of to create or form.

   The formation of the unity government is agreed and we are very grateful.

   Submitted by MaryC on April 26, 2020  

2. formation

   To create or form a structure or design.

   They were excellent at creating formation between the team of gymnasts and water polo teams.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 12, 2020  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. formation

   Song lyrics by formation -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by formation on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Arrangement
   • Beginning
   • Creating By Mental Acts
   • Fabrication
   • Geology
   • Natural Process
   • Object

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'formation' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2497

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'formation' in Nouns Frequency: #1033

How to pronounce formation?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say formation in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of formation in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of formation in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of formation in a Sentence

1. Philipp Heck:

   We have more young grains than we expected, our hypothesis is that the majority of those grains, which are 4.9 to 4.6 billion years old, formed in an episode of enhanced star formation. There was a time before the start of the solar system when more stars formed than normal.

2. Frank Moore Colby:

   Averageness is a quality we must put up with. Men march toward civilization in column formation, and by the time the van has learned to admire the masters the rear is drawing reluctantly away from the totem pole.

3. Northwesterns Raffaella Margutti:

   We think that The Cow is the formation of an accreting black hole or neutron star, we know from theory that black holes and neutron stars form when a star dies, but weve never seen them right after they are born. Never.

4. Saida Caballero-Nieves:

   There have been suggestions that these monsters result from the merger of less extreme stars in close binary systems, from what we know about the frequency of massive mergers, this scenario can’t account for all the really massive stars that we see in R136, so it would appear that such stars can originate from the star formation process.

5. Dick Stich:

   We’re just a group of guys that put this together and it’s worked out dramatically well, it’s what I do. It’s what I am.I just love what I do. I love the guys I work with and the guys I fly with. The guys that are doing the formation flying are all good. They’re all certified. We got to trust one another. We fly very close together and we’re pretty good at it.

Images & Illustrations of formation

Popularity rank by frequency of use