Definitions for formation
fɔrˈmeɪ ʃənfor·ma·tion

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

1. formation(noun)

   an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit

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

2. formation, shaping(noun)

   the act of fabricating something in a particular shape

3. constitution, establishment, formation, organization, organisation(noun)

   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, formation(noun)

   (geology) the geological features of the earth

5. formation(noun)

   a particular spatial arrangement

6. formation(noun)

   natural process that causes something to form

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

7. formation(noun)

   creation by mental activity

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

Wiktionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. formation(Noun)

   Something possessing structure or form.

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

2. formation(Noun)

   The act of assembling a group or structure.

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

3. formation(Noun)

   A rock or face of a mountain.

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

4. formation(Noun)

   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. formation(Noun)

   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. formation(Noun)

   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. Formation(noun)

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

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

2. Formation(noun)

   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. Formation(noun)

   a substance formed or deposited

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

4. Formation(noun)

   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. Formation(noun)

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

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

6. Formation(noun)

   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.

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

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

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. Ehsan Sehgal:

   First, the formation of a route is necessary, before contact and correlation since no journey, no destination is possible without it.

2. Eric Marshall:

   Consumer savings have come up, household formation continues to grow faster than the supply of housing, and I think all of those things coming together make for a more stable environment for the publicly traded housing stocks.

3. Antranik Sefilian:

   The problem is when youre observing the disc from inside the system, its almost impossible to see the whole thing at once. While we dont have direct observational evidence for the disc, neither do we have it for Planet Nine, which is why were investigating other possibilities, nevertheless, it is interesting to note that observations of Kuiper belt analogues around other stars, as well as planet formation models, reveal massive remnant populations of debris.

4. Peter Ciganik:

   We are seeing strong household formation by the millennial cohort, which is putting pressure on many local housing markets.

5. Jamie Dimon:

   If you've got to raise taxes, do it on the income of the wealthy, like a Buffett type of tax. That will be far more effective in growing the economy than taxing primary capital formation.

Images & Illustrations of formation

Popularity rank by frequency of use