formation
the act or process of forming or the state of being formed: the formation of ice.
the manner in which a thing is formed; disposition of parts; formal structure or arrangement.
Military.
a particular disposition of troops, as in columns, squares, etc.
any required assembling of the soldiers of a unit.
Geology.
a body of rocks classed as a stratigraphic unit for geologic mapping.: Compare member (def. 8).
the process of depositing rock or mineral of a particular composition or origin.
Origin of formation
1Other words for formation
Other words from formation
- for·ma·tion·al, adjective
- mis·for·ma·tion, noun
- non·for·ma·tion, noun
- self-for·ma·tion, noun
- sub·for·ma·tion, noun
- su·per·for·ma·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use formation in a sentence
Sometimes you have to fly stunt formations with a plane and another guy in a jetpack to really get your kicks.
Daredevil in a Jetpack Flies Alongside A Plane | Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThese formations streamed from Rwanda with the same hopeless shuffle as they did from Bosnia and now as they do from Syria.
There, 9,387 white crosses are aligned so that from any viewpoint they form perfect formations.
On the ground, that strategy called for mass formations organized around tanks and heavy weaponry.
Imagine, for a moment, football commentators who refuse to explain formations and plays.
Music Criticism Has Degenerated Into Lifestyle Reporting | Ted Gioia | March 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Virginia has been richly endowed with caverns, springs, unusual rock formations and a dense, swampy wilderness.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyEach state of the United States generally has at least a few geographical oddities or unusual geographical formations.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyNaturally, my mind dwells happily just now upon our incoming New Army formations.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonThey learned that many of the mountains were extinct volcanoes and admired the brilliant colored sandstone and shale formations.
The Adventure Girls at K Bar O | Clair BlankIt is not rare to find in primitive submarine formations these singular kinds of passages, which seem cut out with a hatchet.
Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo
British Dictionary definitions for formation
/ (fɔːˈmeɪʃən) /
the act of giving or taking form, shape, or existence
something that is formed
the manner in which something is formed or arranged
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
(as modifier): formation dancing
geology
the fundamental lithostratigraphic unit
a series of rocks with certain characteristics in common
ecology a community of plants, such as a tropical rainforest, extending over a very large area
Derived forms of formation
- formational, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for formation
[ fôr-mā′shən ]
A long, mappable body of rock that is recognizable by its physical characteristics and by its location within the rock record.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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