force

[ fawrs, fohrs ]
/ fɔrs, foʊrs /

noun

verb (used with object), forced, forc·ing.

verb (used without object), forced, forc·ing.

to make one's way by force.

Idioms for force

    in force,
    1. in operation; effective: This ancient rule is no longer in force.
    2. in large numbers; at full strength: They attacked in force.

Origin of force

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English < Middle French < Vulgar Latin *fortia, derivative of Latin fortis strong; (v.) Middle English forcen < Anglo-French, Old French forcer, derivative of the noun

synonym study for force

3. See strength.

historical usage of force

Force has a straightforward, uncomplicated history: the word comes via Old French force from fortia, an unattested Vulgar Latin feminine singular noun from Latin fortia, a neuter plural adjective used as a noun, and derived from the adjective fortis “strong, robust, brave.” Nouns and adjectives that were originally neuter in Latin usually become masculine in Romance (languages descended from Latin): corpus “body,” neuter in Latin, becomes corps in French, corpo in Italian, and cuerpo in Spanish, all masculine nouns. The notable exception is that many Latin neuter plural adjectives and participles ending in -ia become feminine singular nouns in Romance because these neuter plurals end in -a, which looks like the singular of Latin feminine nouns of the first declension, especially if the new noun has an abstract or collective meaning. So appārentia, the neuter plural of Latin appārēns “apparent,” will become apparence in French, apparenza in Italian, apariencia in Spanish, aparança in Catalan, and aparenţă in Romanian; and fortia will become force in French, forza in Italian, fuerza in Spanish, força in Catalan, and forţă in Romanian.

OTHER WORDS FROM force

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH force

coerce compel constrain force oblige

Example sentences from the Web for force

British Dictionary definitions for force (1 of 2)

force 1
/ (fɔːs) /

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of force

forceable, adjective forceless, adjective forcer, noun forcingly, adverb

Word Origin for force

C13: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin fortia (unattested), from Latin fortis strong

British Dictionary definitions for force (2 of 2)

force 2
/ (fɔːs) /

noun

(in northern England) a waterfall

Word Origin for force

C17: from Old Norse fors

Medical definitions for force

force
[ fôrs ]

n.

The capacity to do work or cause physical change; energy, strength, or active power.
A vector quantity that tends to produce an acceleration of a body in the direction of its application.

Scientific definitions for force

force
[ fôrs ]

Any of various factors that cause a body to change its speed, direction, or shape. Force is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and direction. Contributions of force from different sources can be summed to give the net force at any given point.
Any of the four natural phenomena involving the interaction between particles of matter. From the strongest to the weakest, the four forces are the strong nuclear force, the electromagnetic force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity.

Cultural definitions for force

force

In physics, something that causes a change in the motion of an object. The modern definition of force (an object's mass multiplied by its acceleration) was given by Isaac Newton in Newton's laws of motion. The most familiar unit of force is the pound. (See mechanics.)

notes for force

Gravity, and therefore weight, is a kind of force.

Idioms and Phrases with force

force