force

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)Ability to influence; strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.

   “the force of an appeal, an argument, or a contract”

   “show of force”

   “He was, in the full force of the words, a good man.”

   “After his actions were challenged by foreign governments and Parliament initially tried to put a stop to his action, Denman returned home and argued his case with enough force that, by 1848, the Royal Navy was handed active permission and encouragement to raze every last slave factory they could find to the ground, and full authority to stop any ship, of any flag, that was thought to be a slaver, with a guarantee with^([sic]) no censure from the government.”

2. (uncountable)A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).

   “Torque is the rotational version of force.”

   “Force is the result of fundamental interactions.”

3. (countable)A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).

   “Most physicists deem there to be four fundamental forces: the weak force, the strong force, gravitation, and the electromagnetic force.”

   “fictitious forces”

4. (capitalized, countable, humorous, often, uncountable)A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).

   “The Europeans tried, my goodness how they tried. But on the day the US proved too strong and too inspired. They were, dammit, just better. And when Leonard's putt dropped they clearly had the force with them as well.”

   “The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.”

5. (countable)A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).

   “A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.”

   “Two forces acting upon the same point on an object will cancel out only if they have equal magnitude and opposite directions.”

6. (possibly, proscribed, uncountable)A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).

   “Heavier objects are those that are subject to more gravitational force.”

7. (countable)Anything that is able to make a substantial change in a person or thing.
8. (countable, uncountable)Something or anything that has the power to produce a physical effect upon something else, such as causing it to move or change shape.
9. (countable)Something that exerts influence.

   “force of nature”

10. (countable, uncountable)Something that exerts influence.

    “I believe that the main long-term force that guides a society's evolution is not the economy or the leaders, but the culture.”

    “Some skeptics have attributed changing temperatures to forces out of our control, such as axial procession.”

    “market forces”

11. (uncountable)Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion.

    “which now they hold by force, and not by right”

12. (countable, uncountable)Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion.
13. (countable)A group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group).

    “air force; police force”

    “Force Z”

    “Is Lucius general of the forces?”

    “"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there.[…]."”

    “For Lothian and Borders Police, the early-morning raid had come at the end one of biggest investigations carried out by the force, which had originally presented a dossier of evidence on the murder of Jodi Jones to the Edinburgh procurator-fiscal, William Gallagher, on 25 November last year.”

14. (countable, uncountable)A group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group).
15. (countable, plural, singular, uncountable)A group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group).

    “After only a week, Japanese forces had captured Singapore from the British.”

    “reinforcements grew the American force in the area to 9,000”

    “Roman forces were”

16. (countable, plural, singular, uncountable, usually, with-definite-article)A group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group).

    “Q. All the time that he was on the force? A. I cannot say that; but there were men on with me when I was on the force who were very good Republicans. Q. During all this time you have been on the police force?”

    “Some of those that work forces / Are the same that burn crosses”

    “Niall was on the force, too, a detective in major crimes.”

17. (uncountable)The state of having legal weight, of being legally valid,.

    “The law will come into force in January.”

18. (countable)A magic trick in which the outcome is known to the magician beforehand, especially one involving the apparent free choice of a card by another person.
19. (countable, uncountable)Ability of an utterance or its element (word, form, prosody, ...) to effect a given meaning.

    “When the aspectual force of the verbal categories weakens, the 'terminative', punctual or determinative value of the prefix gains in importance,...”

20. (countable, uncountable)The annualized instantaneous rate of change at a particular timepoint.

    “force of mortality”

21. (Northern-England, countable)A waterfall or cascade.

    “to see the falls or force of the river Kent”

verb

1. (transitive)To make someone or something do something, often regardless of their will.

   “Captain Edward Carlisle[…]felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,[…]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.”

   “The second problem is the economy, the shocking state of which has forced the decision to apply to the EU.”

   “Housebuilders had warned that the higher costs involved would have forced them to build fewer homes and priced many homebuyers out of the market.”

   “The hourly Southampton to London Victoria service via Horsham has been axed, as has the direct Littlehampton-Bognor Regis service, forcing passengers to change [trains] at Barnham.”

2. (transitive)To constrain by force; to overcome the limitations or resistance of.

   “Shall wee force the general law of nature, which in all living creatures under heaven is seene to tremble at paine?”

3. (transitive)To drive (something) by force, to propel (generally + prepositional phrase or adverb).

   “It stuck so fast, so deeply buried lay / That scarce the victor forced the steel away.”

   “to force the tyrant from his seat by war”

   “Ethelbert […]ordered that none should be forced into religion.”

   “In a groundbreaking move, the Pentagon is compensating servicemen seriously hurt when an American tank convoy forced them off the road.”

4. (transitive)To cause to occur (despite inertia, resistance etc.); to produce through force.

   “The comedian's jokes weren't funny, but I forced a laugh now and then.”

   “Janet Tobacman of Woman Organized for Reproductive Choice (WORC) in Chicago and New Jewish Agenda stated, "R2N2 needs omre discussion and action around sexuality in general," forcing a concern that had little discussion throughout the conference.”

5. (transitive)To forcibly open (a door, lock etc.).

   “I forgot my keys in and so we had to force (open) the door.”

6. (transitive)To violate (a woman); to rape.

   “For yf ye were suche fyfty as ye be / ye were not able to make resystence ageynst this deuyl / here lyeth a duchesse deede the whiche was the fayrest of alle the world wyf to syre Howel / duc of Bretayne / he hath murthred her in forcynge her / and has slytte her vnto the nauyl”

   “a young woman not farre from mee had headlong cast her selfe out of a high window, with intent to kill herselfe, only to avoid the ravishment of a rascally-base souldier that lay in her house, who offered to force her[…].”

7. (intransitive, obsolete, reflexive)To exert oneself, to do one's utmost.

   “And I pray you for my sake to force yourselff there, that men may speke you worshyp.”

8. To obtain or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress.
9. (transitive)To create an out by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground.

   “Jones forced the runner at second by stepping on the bag.”

10. To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit that he/she does not hold.
11. (archaic)To put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce.

    “VVhat can the Church force more?”

12. (archaic)To provide with forces; to reinforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison.

    “Were they not forc’d with thoſe that ſhould be ours, / We might haue met them darefull, beard to beard, / And beate them backward home.”

13. (obsolete)To allow the force of; to value; to care for.

    “For me, I force not argument a straw.”

14. To grow (rhubarb) in the dark, causing it to grow early.
15. To stuff; to lard; to farce.

    “Wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit.”

name

1. (Northern-England)Falls. used in place names.
2. A surname.