/fɔːs/, /foɹs/, [fo̞ɹs]
OriginFrom Middle English force, fors, forse, from Old French force, from Late Latin fortia, a noun derived from the neuter plural of Latin fortis (“strong”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).
- countable, uncountableAbility to influence; strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.
“the force of an appeal, an argument, or a contract”
“show of force”
“He was, in the full force of the words, a good man.”
- uncountableThe generalized abstraction of this concept.
“Torque is the rotational version of force.”
“Force is the result of fundamental interactions.”
- countableA particular form or type of force.
“Most physicists deem there to be four fundamental forces: the weak force, the strong force, gravitation, and the electromagnetic force.”
“fictitious forces”
- capitalized, countable, humorous, often, uncountableA metaphysical and ubiquitous power from the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. See usage note.
“The Europeans tried, my goodness how they tried. But on the day the US proved too strong and too inspired. They were, dammit, just better. And when Leonard's putt dropped they clearly had the force wi”
“The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.”
- countableAn instance of a physical force.
“A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying”
“Two forces acting upon the same point on an object will cancel out only if they have equal magnitude and opposite directions.”
- possibly, proscribed, uncountableForce understood as something of which there can be an amount.
“Heavier objects are those that are subject to more gravitational force.”
- countableAnything that is able to make a substantial change in a person or thing.
- countable, uncountableSomething or anything that has the power to produce a physical effect upon something else, such as causing it to move or change shape.
- countableSomething that exerts influence.
- countable, uncountableSomething that, over time, influences a system with which it interacts (with a connotation of underlyingness, subtlety, or indirectness).
“I believe that the main long-term force that guides a society's evolution is not the economy or the leaders, but the culture.”
“Some skeptics have attributed changing temperatures to forces out of our control, such as axial procession.”
“market forces”
- uncountablePower exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion.
“which now they hold by force, and not by right”
- countable, uncountableEither unlawful violence, as in a "forced entry", or lawful compulsion.
- countableA group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group).
“air force; police force”
“Force Z”
“Is Lucius general of the forces?”
- countable, uncountableAny large, organized group involved in a military engagement.
- countable, plural, singular, uncountableMilitary personnel, collectively, including any vehicles, ships, or aircraft. More broadly, the military or police altogether.
“After only a week, Japanese forces had captured Singapore from the British.”
“reinforcements grew the American force in the area to 9,000”
“Roman forces were”
- countable, plural, singular, uncountable, usuallySynonym of police force.
“Q. All the time that he was on the force?
A. I cannot say that; but there were men on with me when I was on the force who were very good Republicans.
Q. During all this time you have been on the polic”
“Some of those that work forces / Are the same that burn crosses”
“Niall was on the force, too, a detective in major crimes.”
- uncountableThe state of having legal weight, of being legally valid,.
“The law will come into force in January.”
“come into force”
- countableA 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.
- countable, uncountableAbility of an utterance or its element (word, form, prosody, ...) to effect a given meaning.
“When the aspectual force of the verbal categories weakens, the 'terminative', punctual or determinative value of the prefix gains in importance,...”
- countable, uncountableThe annualized instantaneous rate of change at a particular timepoint.
- Northern-England, countableA waterfall or cascade.
“to see the falls or force of the river Kent”
- transitiveTo make someone or something do something, often regardless of their will.
“Captain Edward Carlisle[…]felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,[…]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned su”
“The second problem is the economy, the shocking state of which has forced the decision to apply to the EU.”
“Housebuilders had warned that the higher costs involved would have forced them to build fewer homes and priced many homebuyers out of the market.”
- transitiveTo constrain by force; to overcome the limitations or resistance of.
“Shall wee force the general law of nature, which in all living creatures under heaven is seene to tremble at paine?”
- transitiveTo drive (something) by force, to propel (generally + prepositional phrase or adverb).
“It stuck so fast, so deeply buried lay / That scarce the victor forced the steel away.”
“to force the tyrant from his seat by war”
“Ethelbert […]ordered that none should be forced into religion.”
- transitiveTo cause to occur (despite inertia, resistance etc.); to produce through force.
“The comedian's jokes weren't funny, but I forced a laugh now and then.”
“Janet Tobacman of Woman Organized for Reproductive Choice (WORC) in Chicago and New Jewish Agenda stated, "R2N2 needs omre discussion and action around sexuality in general," forcing a concern that ha”
- transitiveTo forcibly open (a door, lock etc.).
“I forgot my keys in and so we had to force (open) the door.”
- transitiveTo violate (a woman); to rape.
“For yf ye were suche fyfty as ye be / ye were not able to make resystence ageynst this deuyl / here lyeth a duchesse deede the whiche was the fayrest of alle the world wyf to syre Howel / duc of Breta”
“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 off”
- intransitive, obsolete, reflexiveTo exert oneself, to do one's utmost.
“And I pray you for my sake to force yourselff there, that men may speke you worshyp.”
- To obtain or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress.
- transitiveTo 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.”
- To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit that he/she does not hold.
- archaicTo put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce.
“VVhat can the Church force more?”
- archaicTo provide with forces; to reinforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison.
“Were they not forc’d with thoſe that ſhould be ours, / We might haue met them darefull, beard to beard, / And beate them backward home.”
- obsoleteTo allow the force of; to value; to care for.
“For me, I force not argument a straw.”
- To grow (rhubarb) in the dark, causing it to grow early.
- To stuff; to lard; to farce.
“Wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit.”
- Northern-EnglandFalls. used in place names.
- A surname.
Formsforces(plural) · forces(present, singular, third-person) · forcing(participle, present) · forced(participle, past) · forced(past) · force(infinitive) · force(first-person, present, singular) · forced(first-person, past, singular) · force(present, second-person, singular) · forcest(archaic, present, second-person, singular) · forced(past, second-person, singular) · forcedst(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · forceth(archaic, present, singular, third-person) · forced(past, singular, third-person) · force(plural, present) · forced(past, plural) · force(present, subjunctive) · forced(past, subjunctive) · force(imperative, present) · -(imperative, past)