force

A2 Topic:Physics

Also spelled forc’d

US /foɹs/ UK /fɔːs/ See IPA manual

Freq #849

Meanings

1

noun
Physical power or strength used on something.

She pushed the heavy door open with all her force.
2

verb
To make someone do something they do not want to do.

They forced him to sign the agreement.
3

noun
A strong influence or effect.

Social media is a powerful force in modern politics.
4

noun
A group organized for military or police action.

The country sent a force of soldiers to the border.
5

noun
In physics, an influence that changes the motion of an object.

Force equals mass times acceleration.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · physical power or strength... strength forcefulness

4 noun · a group organized for... military forcemilitary unit

Word family

Forms forcesforcingunforced

Derived forms action-forcingantiforcebiteforcebrakeforcebrute-forcecounterforcecyberforcedownforceenforceforce-feedforce-fieldforce-out

Related forms newton

Appears in

Phrases (10)

See all

use force
apply physical power to achieve something, especially to control people

Verb + noun
physical force
force applied through direct bodily strength

Adjective + noun
apply force
exert physical pressure or strength to something

Verb + noun
brute force
raw physical power used without skill or subtlety

Adjective + noun
sheer force
force that is impressive purely by its magnitude

Adjective + noun
exert force
put out or apply force, especially in a sustained way

Verb + noun

Idioms (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Force entered English in the Middle Ages and comes ultimately from Latin fortis, “strong.” The distinct verb forge in forge ahead may be a variant of force.

Etymology

From Middle English force, forz, fors, from Old Norse fors (“waterfall”), from Proto-Germanic *fursaz (“waterfall”). Cognate with Icelandic foss (“waterfall”), Norwegian foss (“waterfall”), Swedish fors (“waterfall”). Doublet of foss.

force Old English fors Old Norse *fursaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Physics General Vocabulary

External links

# force

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /foɹs/
**IPA (UK):** /fɔːs/
**Frequency rank:** 849

## Meanings
1. Physical power or strength used on something.
2. To make someone do something they do not want to do.
3. A strong influence or effect.
4. A group organized for military or police action.
5. In physics, an influence that changes the motion of an object.

## Examples
- She pushed the heavy door open with all her force.
- They forced him to sign the agreement.
- Social media is a powerful force in modern politics.
- The country sent a force of soldiers to the border.
- Force equals mass times acceleration.

## Derived Forms
- action-forcing
- antiforce
- biteforce
- brakeforce
- brute-force
- counterforce
- cyberforce
- downforce
- enforce
- force-feed
- force-field
- force-out

## Related Forms
- newton

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: force
- Root: fors
- Root: *fursaz

## Etymology
From Middle English force, forz, fors, from Old Norse fors (“waterfall”), from Proto-Germanic *fursaz (“waterfall”). Cognate with Icelandic foss (“waterfall”), Norwegian foss (“waterfall”), Swedish fors (“waterfall”). Doublet of foss.

## AI Etymology
Force comes from Middle English force, forz, fors, from Old Norse fors (“waterfall”), from Proto-Germanic *fursaz (“waterfall”). Cognate with Icelandic foss (“waterfall”), Norwegian foss (“waterfall”), Swedish fors (“waterfall”). Doublet of foss. In current use, the main senses are “Physical power or strength used on something” and “To make someone do something they do not want to do”.

## Topics
- Physics
- General Vocabulary

markdown