the act of giving or taking form, shape, or existence something that is formed the manner in which something is formed or arranged a formal arrangement of a number of persons or things acting as a unit, such as a troop of soldiers, aircraft in flight, or a football team (as modifier): formation dancing the fundamental lithostratigraphic unit a series of rocks with certain characteristics in common
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
for•ma•tion /fɔrˈmeɪʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the act or process of forming or the state of being formed:[uncountable]the formation of ice.
- the manner in which a thing is formed;
formal structure or arrangement: [countable]a formation of jet planes.[uncountable]planes flying in formation. - Military development;
creation;
establishment:[uncountable]The Pilgrims' goal was the formation of a colony in the New World.
for•ma•tion
(fôr mā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
for•ma′tion•al, adj.
- the act or process of forming or the state of being formed:the formation of ice.
- the manner in which a thing is formed;
disposition of parts;
formal structure or arrangement. - Military
- Militarya particular disposition of troops, as in columns, squares, etc.
- any required assembling of the soldiers of a unit.
- [Geol.]
- a body of rocks classed as a stratigraphic unit for geologic mapping. Cf. member (def. 8).
- the process of depositing rock or mineral of a particular composition or origin.
- Latin fōrmātiōn- (stem of fōrmātiō), equivalent. to fōrmāt(us) (see form, -ate1) + -iōn- -ion
- late Middle English formacioun 1375–1425
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged establishment, founding, organization.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'in battle formation' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):