-formsuff. Having the form of: plexiform.[New Latin -f?rmis, from Latin f?rma, form.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.-form adj combining form having the shape or form of or resembling: cruciform; vermiform. [from New Latin -formis, from Latin, from f?rma form]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014form (f?rm) n. 1. external appearance of a clearly defined area, as distinguished from color or material; configuration: a triangular form. 2. the shape of a thing or person. 3. a body, esp. that of a human being. 4. a dummy having the same measurements as a human body, used for fitting or displaying clothing. 5. something that gives or determines shape; a mold. 6. a particular condition, character, or mode in which something appears: water in the form of ice. 7. the manner or style of arranging and coordinating parts for a pleasing or effective result, as in literary or musical composition. 8. the organization, placement, or relationship of basic elements, as lines and colors in a painting or volumes and voids in a sculpture, so as to produce a coherent image; the formal structure of a work of art. 9. a particular kind, type, species, or variety, esp. of a zoological group. 10. the combination of all the like faces possible on a crystal of given symmetry. 11. due or proper shape; orderly arrangement of parts; good order. 12. Philos. a. the structure, organization, or essential character of something, as opposed to its matter. b. (cap.) Platonism. idea (def. 8c). c. Aristotelianism. that which places a thing in its particular species or kind. 13. a set, prescribed, or customary order or method of doing something. 14. a set order of words, as for use in religious ritual or in a legal document; formula. 15. a document with blank spaces to be filled in with particulars: a tax form. 16. a conventional method of procedure or behavior: society’s forms. 17. procedure according to a set order or method. 18. conformity to the usages of society; formality; ceremony. 19. manner or method of performing something; technique: The violinist displayed excellent form. 20. physical condition or fitness, as for performing: a tennis player in peak form. 21. a. linguistic form. b. a particular shape of a word that occurs in more than one shape: In I’m, ‘m is a form of am. c. a word with a particular inflectional ending or other modification: Goes is a form of go. d. the external shape or pattern of a word or other construction, as distinguished from its meaning, function, etc. 22. temporary boarding or sheeting of plywood or metal for giving a desired shape to poured concrete, rammed earth, etc. 23. a grade or class of pupils in a British secondary school or in certain U.S. private schools. 24. a bench or long seat. 25. an assemblage of printing types, leads, etc., secured in a chase to print from. v.t. 26. to construct or frame. 27. to make or produce. 28. to serve to make up; compose; constitute: Three citizens form the review board. 29. to place in order; arrange; organize. 30. to frame (ideas, opinions, etc.) in the mind. 31. to contract or develop (habits, friendships, etc.). 32. to give form or shape to; shape; fashion. 33. to give a particular form or shape to: Form the dough into squares. 34. to mold or develop by discipline or instructions. 35. to produce (a word or class of words) by adding an affix, combining elements, or changing the shape of the form: to form the plural by adding -s. v.i. 36. to take or assume form. 37. to be formed or produced: Ice began to form on the window. 38. to take a particular form or arrangement: The ice formed in patches across the window. [1175?1225; Middle English forme