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# formation

«formation» in Mova's school dictionary: **the way something is made or forms over time** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a formation, formations; formation — uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Formation is the way something is made or forms over time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#m1)

2) A formation is a pattern or shape that people, planes, birds or players are arranged in. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#m2)

3) A rock formation is a natural shape or group of rocks. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#m3)

4) (formal) The formation of a club or group is when it is set up. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science, pupils learn about the formation of clouds, rocks, ice and caves. In PE and sport, teams line up in a formation such as 4-4-2. Geese fly in a V formation; aircraft fly in formation at air shows. Phrases: in formation, rock formation, cloud formation, the formation of.

### examples

- We learned about the formation of rain clouds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#x1)
- The geese flew south in a V formation. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#x2)
- The team played in a 4-4-2 formation. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#x3)
- The cave has amazing rock formations. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#x4)
- The planes flew in formation over the crowd. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#x5)
- Stalactites take a very long time in their formation. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#x6)
- The pupils stood in a formation of 5 rows of 6, so there were 30 of them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#x7)
- The formation of the school council was announced in assembly. (formal) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/#x8)

### note

Can be countable (a formation, two formations) or uncountable (the process of forming). The verb is «form». In maths, «a formation of r rows and c columns» means r × c people.

### In the corpora

- [In the testudo, or tortoise formation, soldiers locked their shields above and around them to protect against arrows.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «formation» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/formation/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.