From the American Heritage Dictionary

form (fôrm) n.

1. a. The shape and structure of an object. b. The body or outward appearance of a person or an animal considered separately from the face or head; figure.
2. a. The essence of something. b. The mode in which a thing exists, acts, or manifests itself; kind: a form of animal life; a form of blackmail.
3. a. Procedure as determined or governed by regulation or custom. b. A fixed order of words or procedures, as for use in a ceremony; a formula.
4. A document with blanks for the insertion of details or information:
5. a. Manners or conduct as governed by etiquette, decorum, or custom. b. Behavior according to a fixed or accepted standard: Tardiness is considered bad form. c. Performance considered with regard to acknowledged criteria: a good jump shooter having an unusual form.
6. a. Proven ability to perform: a musician at the top of her form. b. Fitness, as of an athlete or animal, with regard to health or training. c. The past performance of a racehorse. d. A racing form.
7. a. Method of arrangement or manner of coordinating elements in literary or musical composition or in organized discourse: presented my ideas in outline form; a treatise in the form of a dialogue. b. A particular type or example of such arrangement: The essay is a literary form. c. The design, structure, or pattern of a work of art: symphonic form.
8. a. A mold for the setting of concrete. b. A model of the human figure or part of it used for displaying clothes. c. A proportioned model that may be adjusted for fitting clothes.
9. A grade in a British secondary school or in some American private schools: the sixth form.
10. a. A linguistic form. b. The external aspect of words with regard to their inflections, pronunciation, or spelling: verb forms.
11. a. Chiefly British. A long seat; a bench. b. The resting place of a hare.
12. Botany. A subdivision of a variety usually differing in one trivial characteristic, such as flower color.

-form v. formed, form0ing, forms.
-tr.

1. a. To give form to; shape: form clay into figures. b. To develop in the mind; conceive: form an opinion.
2. a. To shape or mold (dough, for example) into a particular form. b. To arrange oneself in: Holding out his arms, the cheerleader formed a T. The acrobats formed a pyramid. c. To organize or arrange: The environmentalists formed their own party. d. To fashion, train, or develop by instruction or precept: form a child's mind.
3. To come to have; develop or acquire: form a habit.
4. To constitute or compose a usually basic element, part, or characteristic of.
5. a. To produce (a tense, for example) by assuming an inflection: form the pluperfect. b. To make (a word) by derivation or composition.
6. To put in order; arrange.

-intr.

1. To become formed or shaped.
2. To come into being by taking form; arise.
3. To assume a specified form, shape, or pattern. [Middle English forme, from Latin fÅrma.] -form1a0bil2i0ty n. -form2a0ble adj.

SYNONYMS: form, figure, shape, configuration, contour, profile. These nouns refer to the external outline of a thing. Form is the outline and structure of a thing as opposed to its substance: stalactites of curious forms; a garden in the form of a lovers' knot. Figure refers usually to form as established by bounding or enclosing lines: The cube is a solid geometric figure. "Europe is disclosed as a prone and emaciated figure, the Alps shaping like a backbone, and the branching mountain chains like ribs, the peninsular plateau of Spain forming a head" (Thomas Hardy). Shape implies three-dimensional definition that indicates both outline and bulk or mass: "Rowing [at night], he faced her, a hooded and cloaked shape" (Joseph Conrad). Configuration stresses the pattern formed by the arrangement of parts within an outline: The map shows the configuration of the North American continent, with its mountains, rivers, and plains. Contour refers especially to the outline of a three-dimensional figure: I ran my finger along the soft, curving contour of the child's cheek. Profile denotes the outline of something viewed against a background and especially the outline of the human face in side view: We glimpsed the profile of the church steeple against the last glow of the sunset. The profile of the old warrior was characterized by a strong jaw and an aquiline nose.

Noun: A conventional social gesture or act without intrinsic purpose. ceremony, ritual, formality.

Noun: A document used to request consideration for employment or admission. application.

Noun: A model for making a mold. cast, matrix.

Noun: A state of sound readiness. order, condition, fitness, trim, fettle.

Noun: An accepted way of doing something. convention, usage, consuetude.

Noun: The external outline of a thing. figure, pattern, shape, cast, configuration, format.

Verb: To be the constituent parts of. make, make up, constitute, compose.

Verb: To come gradually to have. develop.

Verb: To give form to. shape, mold, model.