for·ma·tion

(fôr-mā′shən)

1. The act or process of forming something or of taking form.

2. Something formed: beautiful cloud formations.

3. The manner or style in which something is formed; structure: the distinctive formation of the human eye.

4. A specified arrangement or deployment, as of aircraft, troops, or players on a sports team.

5. Geology A primary unit in the mapping of rock strata, consisting of a set of contemporaneous rocks having the same characteristics and origin.

for·ma′tion·al adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

formation

(fɔːˈmeɪʃən)

1. the act of giving or taking form, shape, or existence

2. something that is formed

3. the manner in which something is formed or arranged

a. a formal arrangement of a number of persons or things acting as a unit, such as a troop of soldiers, aircraft in flight, or a football team

b. (as modifier): formation dancing.

5. (Geological Science) geology

a. the fundamental lithostratigraphic unit

b. a series of rocks with certain characteristics in common

6. (Botany) ecology a community of plants, such as a tropical rainforest, extending over a very large area

forˈmational adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

for•ma•tion

(fɔrˈmeɪ ʃən)

n.

1. the act or process of forming or the state of being formed.

2. the manner in which a thing is formed; formal structure or arrangement.

a. a particular arrangement or disposition of persons, as of troops or players on a team.

b. any required assembling of the soldiers of a unit.

a. a body of rocks classed as a stratigraphic unit for geologic mapping. Compare member (def. 8).

b. the process of depositing rock or mineral of a particular composition or origin.

[1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin]

for•ma′tion•al, adj.

for·ma·tion

(fôr-mā′shən)

A long layer of sediments or rocks that look alike and were formed at the same time. Formations are shown on geological maps, much as highways are shown on road maps.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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 Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

Formation

a formal assembly of troops; arrangement of rocks in a geological setting, 1815.

Examples: formation of clouds, 1808; of troop, 1796.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	formation - an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit; "a defensive formation"; "a formation of planes" arrangement - an orderly grouping (of things or persons) considered as a unit; the result of arranging; "a flower arrangement" flight - a formation of aircraft in flight military formation - a formation of troops backfield - the offensive football players who line up behind the linemen secondary - the defensive football players who line up behind the linemen line - a formation of people or things one behind another; "the line stretched clear around the corner"; "you must wait in a long line at the checkout counter" line - a formation of people or things one beside another; "the line of soldiers advanced with their bayonets fixed"; "they were arrayed in line of battle"; "the cast stood in line for the curtain call" center - the middle of a military or naval formation; "they had to reinforce the center" flank, wing - the side of military or naval formation; "they attacked the enemy's right flank" head - the front of a military formation or procession; "the head of the column advanced boldly"; "they were at the head of the attack" rear - the back of a military formation or procession; "infantrymen were in the rear"
	2.	formation - the act of fabricating something in a particular shape shaping manufacturing, manufacture, fabrication - the act of making something (a product) from raw materials; "the synthesis and fabrication of single crystals"; "an improvement in the manufacture of explosives"; "manufacturing is vital to Great Britain" filing - the act of using a file (as in shaping or smoothing an object) forging - shaping metal by heating and hammering metalworking, metalwork - the activity of making things out of metal in a skillful manner granulation - the act of forming something into granules or grains; "the granulation of medicines" grooving, rifling - the cutting of spiral grooves on the inside of the barrel of a firearm turning - the activity of shaping something on a lathe
	3.	formation - 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" establishment, constitution, organisation, organization commencement, start, beginning - the act of starting something; "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations" unionisation, unionization - act of forming labor unions; "the issue underlying the strike was unionization" collectivisation, collectivization - the organization of a nation or economy on the basis of collectivism communisation, communization - the organization of a nation of the basis of communism federation - the act of constituting a political unity out of a number of separate states or colonies or provinces so that each member retains the management of its internal affairs colonisation, colonization, settlement - the act of colonizing; the establishment of colonies; "the British colonization of America"
	4.	formation - (geology) the geological features of the earth geological formation object, physical object - a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" geology - a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks aquifer - underground bed or layer yielding ground water for wells and springs etc beach - an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake cave - a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea cliff, drop-off, drop - a steep high face of rock; "he stood on a high cliff overlooking the town"; "a steep drop" delta - a low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of water; "the Mississippi River delta"; "the Nile delta" diapir - a domed rock formation where a core of rock has moved upward and pierced through the more brittle overlying strata folium - a thin layer or stratum of (especially metamorphic) rock foreshore - the part of the seashore between the highwater mark and the low-water mark ice mass - a large mass of ice lakefront - land bordering a lake massif - a block of the earth's crust bounded by faults and shifted to form peaks of a mountain range monocline - a geological formation in which all strata are inclined in the same direction mouth - the point where a stream issues into a larger body of water; "New York is at the mouth of the Hudson" natural depression, depression - a sunken or depressed geological formation natural elevation, elevation - a raised or elevated geological formation oceanfront - land bordering an ocean chain of mountains, mountain chain, mountain range, range of mountains, range, chain - a series of hills or mountains; "the valley was between two ranges of hills"; "the plains lay just beyond the mountain range" relict - geological feature that is a remnant of a pre-existing formation after other parts have disappeared ridgeline, ridge - a long narrow range of hills ridge - a long narrow natural elevation on the floor of the ocean shore - the land along the edge of a body of water incline, slope, side - an elevated geological formation; "he climbed the steep slope"; "the house was built on the side of a mountain" natural spring, outpouring, fountain, spring, outflow - a natural flow of ground water scree, talus - a sloping mass of loose rocks at the base of a cliff mineral vein, vein - a layer of ore between layers of rock crater, volcanic crater - a bowl-shaped geological formation at the top of a volcano wall - a vertical (or almost vertical) smooth rock face (as of a cave or mountain) groundwater level, water table, water level - underground surface below which the ground is wholly saturated with water; "spring rains had raised the water table"
	5.	formation - a particular spatial arrangement raster - the rectangular formation of parallel scanning lines that guide the electron beam on a television screen or a computer monitor rigging, rig - formation of masts, spars, sails, etc., on a vessel split - (tenpin bowling) a divided formation of pins left standing after the first bowl; "he was winning until he got a split in the tenth frame" placement, arrangement - the spatial property of the way in which something is placed; "the arrangement of the furniture"; "the placement of the chairs"
	6.	formation - natural process that causes something to form; "the formation of gas in the intestine"; "the formation of crystals"; "the formation of pseudopods" encrustation, incrustation - the formation of a crust natural action, natural process, action, activity - a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings); "the action of natural forces"; "volcanic activity" reticulation - (photography) the formation of a network of cracks or wrinkles in a photographic emulsion
	7.	formation - creation by mental activity; "the formation of sentences"; "the formation of memories" creating by mental acts - the act of creating something by thinking affixation - formation of a word by means of an affix

formation

noun

1. establishment, founding, forming, setting up, starting, production, generation, organization, manufacture, constitution the formation of a new government

2. development, shaping, constitution, evolution, moulding, composition, compilation, accumulation, genesis, crystallization The formation of my character and temperament.

3. arrangement, grouping, figure, design, structure, pattern, rank, organization, array, disposition, configuration He was flying in formation with seven other jets.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

formation

noun

A way or condition of being arranged:

arrangement, categorization, classification, deployment, disposal, disposition, distribution, grouping, layout, lineup, order, organization, placement, sequence.

Translations

تَشْكيل، تَشْكيلَهتَشْكيل، تَكْوين، إنْشاء

útvarutvoření

formationoprettelse

Ausbildung Bildung Entstehung Formation Gründung

σχηματισμός

formación

koulutusmuodostelmamuodostuma

formation format

alakításalakzatmegalakítás

myndunskipuleg röî, fylking

formazione origine schiera cultura

danning formasjon

конструкция образование создание структура формация

útvarutvorenie

düzenkurmatertip

组成队形

formation

[fɔːˈmeɪʃən]

A. N (gen) → formación f
in battle formation → en formación de combate

B. CPD formation flying N → vuelo m en formación

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

formation

[fɔː^rˈmeɪʃ^ən] n

(= creation) [government, organization] → formation f; [club] → création f; [character] → formation f; [idea] → développement m; [rocks, lakes] → formation f rock formation, capital formation

(= pattern) to fly in formation (AVIATION) → voler en formationformation flying n → vol m en formation

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

formation

(= act of forming) → Formung f, → Gestaltung f; (Gram: of plural etc) → Bildung f; (of character) → Formung f; (of government, committee) → Bildung f; (of company, society) → Gründung f; (of desire, idea, impression, habit etc) → Entwicklung f; (of friendship) → Schließen nt, → Anknüpfung f; (of opinion) → Bildung f; (of plan) → Entwurf m

(of aircraft, dancers, troops) → Formation f; battle formation → Gefechtsaufstellung f; in close formation (Aviat) → im geschlossenen Verband; to dance in formation → in Formation tanzen

(Geol) → Formation f

formation

formation dancing

n → Formationstanzen nt

formation flying

n → Formationsflug m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

formation

[fɔːˈmeɪʃ/ən] n → formazione f

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

form¹

(foːm) noun

1. (a) shape; outward appearance. He saw a strange form in the darkness.

2. a kind, type or variety. What form of ceremony usually takes place when someone gets a promotion?

3. a document containing certain questions, the answers to which must be written on it. an application form.

4. a fixed way of doing things. forms and ceremonies.

5. a school class. He is in the sixth form.

verb

1. to make; to cause to take shape. They decided to form a drama group.

2. to come into existence; to take shape. An idea slowly formed in his mind.

3. to organize or arrange (oneself or other people) into a particular order. The women formed (themselves) into three groups.

4. to be; to make up. These lectures form part of the medical course.

forˈmation noun

1. the act of forming or making. He agreed to the formation of a music society.

2. (a) particular arrangement or order. The planes flew in formation.

be in good form

to be in good spirits or health. She's in good form after her holiday.

in the form of

having the shape, character, style etc of. He wrote a novel in the form of a diary.

for·ma·tion

n. formación; composición; conjunto.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

On the absence of intermediate varieties at the present day -- On the nature of extinct intermediate varieties; on their number -- On the vast lapse of time, as inferred from the rate of deposition and of denudation -- On the poorness of our palaeontological collections -- On the intermittence of geological formations -- On the absence of intermediate varieties in any one formation -- On the sudden appearance of groups of species -- On their sudden appearance in the lowest known fossiliferous strata.

View in context

Military science, seeing in history innumerable instances of the fact that the size of any army does not coincide with its strength and that small detachments defeat larger ones, obscurely admits the existence of this unknown factor and tries to discover it- now in a geometric formation, now in the equipment employed, now, and most usually, in the genius of the commanders.

View in context

This center, formed of indefinite molecules, began to revolve around its own axis during its gradual condensation; then, following the immutable laws of mechanics, in proportion as its bulk diminished by condensation, its rotary motion became accelerated, and these two effects continuing, the result was the formation of one principal star, the center of the nebulous mass.

View in context

The formation of the New Forest, bears evidence to his passion for hunting, where he reduced many a happy village to the condition of that one commemorated by my friend, Mr William Stewart Rose:

View in context

A the point where we first met this formation it was 120 fee in thickness; following up the river course, the surfac imperceptibly rose and the mass became thicker, so that a forty miles above the first station it was 320 feet thick What the thickness may be close to the Cordillera, I hav no means of knowing, but the platform there attains a heigh of about three thousand feet above the level of the sea we must therefore look to the mountains of that great chai for its source; and worthy of such a source are streams tha have flowed over the gently inclined bed of the sea to distance of one hundred miles.

View in context

And unless it can be shown that the circumstances which may affect the public safety are reducible within certain determinate limits; unless the contrary of this position can be fairly and rationally disputed, it must be admitted, as a necessary consequence, that there can be no limitation of that authority which is to provide for the defense and protection of the community, in any matter essential to its efficacy that is, in any matter essential to the FORMATION, DIRECTION, or SUPPORT of the NATIONAL FORCES.

View in context

Not to consider here anything except the Christian architecture of Europe, that younger sister of the great masonries of the Orient, it appears to the eyes as an immense formation divided into three well-defined zones, which are superposed, the one upon the other: the Romanesque zone*, the Gothic zone, the zone of the Renaissance, which we would gladly call the Greco-Roman zone.

View in context

Ignosi acknowledged this magnificent act of homage by lifting his battle-axe, and then the Greys filed off in a triple-line formation, each line containing about one thousand fighting men, exclusive of officers.

View in context

We made a most imposing and awe-inspiring spectacle as we strung out across the yellow landscape; the two hundred and fifty ornate and brightly colored chariots, preceded by an advance guard of some two hundred mounted warriors and chieftains riding five abreast and one hundred yards apart, and followed by a like number in the same formation, with a score or more of flankers on either side; the fifty extra mastodons, or heavy draught animals, known as zitidars, and the five or six hundred extra thoats of the warriors running loose within the hollow square formed by the surrounding warriors.

View in context

The refined joy of planting shells in the midst of the other battery's formation would appear a little thing when the infantry came swooping out of the woods.

View in context

He knew that they were a kind of furrow found on every part of the disc which was not mountainous; that these furrows, generally isolated, measured from 400 to 500 leagues in length; that their breadth varied from 1,000 to 1,500 yards, and that their borders were strictly parallel; but he knew nothing more either of their formation or their nature.

View in context

Likewise, by way of preliminary, I desire to remind the reader, that while in the earlier geological strata there are found the fossils of monsters now almost completely extinct; the subsequent relics discovered in what are called the Tertiary formations seem the connecting, or at any rate intercepted links, between the antichronical creatures, and those whose remote posterity are said to have entered the Ark; all the Fossil Whales hitherto discovered belong to the Tertiary period, which is the last preceding the superficial formations.

View in context

formation

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Formation

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