Force Definition
force
See also Force, and forcé
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English
Wikipedia has an article on: Force (disambiguation)Pronunciation
- (RP) IPA: /fɔː(ɹ)s/, SAMPA: /fO:(r\)s/
- (GenAm) IPA: /fɔɹs/, /foʊɹs/, SAMPA: /fOr\s/, /fOUr\s/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(r)s
Etymology 1
Middle English force, fors, forse, from Old French force, from Late Latin fortia, from neuter plural of Latin fortis (“strong”).
Noun
force (countable and uncountable; plural forces)
Wikipedia has an article on: ForceWikipedia
- (countable) Anything that is able to make a big change in a person or thing.
- (countable, physics) A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body which is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn)
- (countable) A group that aims to attack, control, or constrain.
- police force
- 2004 April 15, “Morning swoop in hunt for Jodi's killer”, The Scotsman:
- For Lothian and Borders Police, the early-morning raid had come at the end one of biggest investigations carried out by the force, which had originally presented a dossier of evidence on the murder of Jodi Jones to the Edinburgh procurator-fiscal, William Gallagher, on 25 November last year.
- (uncountable) The ability to attack, control, or constrain.
- show of force
- (countable) A magic trick in which the outcome is known to the magician beforehand, especially one involving the apparent free choice of a card by another person.
- (law) Legal validity.
- The law will come into force in January.
- (law) Either unlawful violence, as in a "forced entry", or lawful compulsion.
Usage notes
- Adjectives often applied to "force": military, cultural, economic, gravitational, electric, magnetic, strong, weak, positive, negative, attractive, repulsive, good, evil, dark, physical, muscular, spiritual, intellectual, mental, emotional, rotational, tremendous, huge.
Derived terms
Terms derived from "force"
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Translations
anything that is able to make a big change in person or thing
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Verb
force (third-person singular simple present forces, present participle forcing, simple past and past participle forced)
- (transitive) To violate (a woman); to rape. [from 14th c.]
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book V:
- He hath murthered that mylde withoute ony mercy – he forced hir by fylth of hymself, and so aftir slytte hir unto the navyll.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.1:
- a young woman not farre from mee had headlong cast her selfe out of a high window, with intent to kill herselfe, only to avoid the ravishment of a rascally-base souldier that lay in her house, who offered to force her [...].
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book V:
- (obsolete, reflexive, intransitive) To exert oneself, to do one's utmost. [from 14th c.]
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVIII:
- And I pray you for my sake to force yourselff there, that men may speke you worshyp.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVIII:
- (transitive) To compel (someone or something) to do something. [from 15th c.]
- 2011, Tim Webb & Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, 23 Mar 2011:
- Housebuilders had warned that the higher costs involved would have forced them to build fewer homes and priced many homebuyers out of the market.
- 2011, Tim Webb & Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, 23 Mar 2011:
- (transitive) To constrain by force; to overcome the limitations or resistance of. [from 16th c.]
- 1603, John Florio, trans. Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.40:
- Shall wee force the general law of nature, which in all living creatures under heaven is seene to tremble at paine?
- 1603, John Florio, trans. Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.40:
- (transitive) To drive (something) by force, to propel (generally + prepositional phrase or adverb). [from 16th c.]
- 2007, The Guardian, 4 Nov 2007:
- In a groundbreaking move, the Pentagon is compensating servicemen seriously hurt when an American tank convoy forced them off the road.
- 2007, The Guardian, 4 Nov 2007:
- (transitive) To cause to occur (despite inertia, resistance etc.); to produce through force. [from 16th c.]
- 2009, "All things to Althingi", The Economist, 23 Jul 2009:
- The second problem is the economy, the shocking state of which has forced the decision to apply to the EU.
- 2009, "All things to Althingi", The Economist, 23 Jul 2009:
- (transitive) To forcibly open (a door, lock etc.). [from 17th c.]
- To force a lock.
- (transitive, baseball) To create an out by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground.
- Jones forced the runner at second by stepping on the bag.
Translations
compel (someone to do something)
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Derived terms
See also
- Imperial unit: foot pound
- metric unit: newton
- coerce: To control by force.
Etymology 2
From Old Norse fors (“waterfall”). Cognate with Swedish fors (“waterfall”)
Noun
force (plural forces)
Translations
waterfall — see waterfallStatistics
- Most common English words before 1923: appeared · spoke · strange · #463: force · character · taking · information
External links
- force in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- force in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Anglo-Norman
Etymology
Latin fors
Pronunciation
- IPA: /fɔr.sə/
Noun
force f. (oblique plural forces, nominative singular force, nominative plural forces)
Descendants
French
Etymology
From Late Latin neuter plural fortia < adjective fortis.
Pronunciation
Noun
force f. (plural forces)
Synonyms
Derived terms
- à force
- à la force du poignet
- coup de force
- camisole de force
- de gré ou de force
- de force
- de vive force
- en force
- forcé
- force majeure
- force vive
- forces vives
- forcément
- forcer
- tour de force
Verb
force
- first-person singular present indicative of forcer
- third-person singular present indicative of forcer
- first-person singular present subjunctive of forcer
- third-person singular present subjunctive of forcer
- second-person singular imperative of forcer
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
Late Latin *fortia, Classical Latin fors
Pronunciation
- IPA: /fɔrsə/
Noun
force f. (oblique plural forces, nominative singular force, nominative plural forces)
Related terms
Portuguese
Verb
force
- First-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of verb forçar.
- Third-person singular (ele, ela, also used with tu and você?) present subjunctive of verb forçar.
- First-person singular (eu) affirmative imperative of verb forçar.
- Third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of verb forçar.
- First-person singular (eu) negative imperative of verb forçar.
- Third-person singular (você) negative imperative of verb forçar.
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