1. An arrangement of people or things acting as a unit
   "a defensive formation"; "a formation of planes"
    
2. The act of forming or establishing something
   "The formation of the new committee took several months";
   - constitution, establishment, organization, organisation [Brit]
    
3. The act of fabricating something in a particular shape
   "The potter's skilful formation transformed the clay into a beautiful vase";
   - shaping
    
4. Creation by mental activity
   "the formation of sentences"; "the formation of memories"
    
5. Natural process that causes something to form
   "the formation of pseudopods"; "the formation of gas in the intestine"; "the formation of crystals"
    
6. A particular spatial arrangement
   "The geese flew in a V formation"
    
7. (geology) a distinctive rock unit or series of rocks formed during a specific time period and under similar conditions
   "The Grand Canyon displays various geological formations";
   - geological formation

Derived forms: formations

Type of: action, activity, arrangement, article, beginning, commencement, creating by mental acts, fabrication, manufacture, manufacturing, natural action, natural process, object, physical object, placement, start

Encyclopedia: Formation