Nearby Words

shapes

[sheyp] Origin

shape

[sheyp] noun, verb, shaped, shap·ing.
noun
1.
the quality of a distinct object or body in having an external surface or outline of specific form or figure.
2.
this quality as found in some individual object or body form: This lake has a peculiar shape.
3.
something seen in outline, as in silhouette: A vague shape appeared through the mist.
4.
an imaginary form; phantom.
5.
an assumed appearance; guise: an angel in the shape of a woman.
EXPAND
6.
a particular or definite organized form or expression: He could give no shape to his ideas.
7.
proper form; orderly arrangement.
8.
condition or state of repair: The old house was in bad shape. He was sick last year, but is in good shape now.
9.
the collective conditions forming a way of life or mode of existence: What will the shape of the future be?
10.
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.
11.
something used to give form, as a mold or a pattern.
12.
Also called section. Building Trades, Metalworking. a flanged metal beam or bar of uniform section, as a channel iron, I-beam, etc.
13.
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.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
14.
to give definite form, shape, organization, or character to; fashion or form.
15.
to couch or express in words: to shape a statement.
16.
to adjust; adapt: He shaped everything to suit his taste.
17.
to direct (one's course, future, etc.).
18.
to file the teeth of (a saw) to uniform width after jointing.
EXPAND
19.
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.
20.
Obsolete. to appoint; decree.
COLLAPSE

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Shapes is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
verb (used without object)
21.
to come to a desired conclusion or take place in a specified way: If discussions shape properly, the companies will merge.
22.
shape up,
a.
to assume a specific form: The plan is beginning to shape up.
b.
to evolve or develop, especially favorably.
c.
to improve one's behavior or performance to meet a required standard.
d.
to get oneself into good physical condition.
e.
(of longshoremen) to get into a line or formation in order to be assigned the day's work.
23.
take shape, to assume a fixed form; become definite: The house is beginning to take shape.

Origin:
before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English gesceapu (plural); replacing dial. shap, Middle English; Old English gesceap (singular); cognate with Old Norse skap state, mood; (v.) 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

shap·a·ble, shape·a·ble, adjective
out·shape, verb (used with object), -shaped, -shap·ing.
pre·shape, noun, verb (used with object), -shaped, -shap·ing.
trans·shape, verb (used with object), -shaped, -shap·ing.
un·shap·a·ble, adjective
EXPAND
un·shape·a·ble, adjective
un·shap·ing, adjective
COLLAPSE


1. silhouette, appearance. See form. 4. specter, illusion. 7. order, pattern. 8. order, situation. 14. mold, model.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

SHAPE

[sheyp]
noun
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe.
Also, Shape.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To shapes
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

shape
O.E. gesceap "creation, form, destiny," from root of shape (v.)). Meaning "contours of the body" is attested from c.1393. Meaning "condition, state" is first recorded 1865, Amer.Eng. In M.E., the word also had a sense of "a woman's private parts." Shapely "well-formed" is recorded from 1382.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature