as in layout
the way in which something is sized, arranged, or organized
geese flying south in a V-formation
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of formation
When DiBernardo went on maternity leave last July, the formations shifted to feature the two midfielders and Debinha as the 10.
—
Pj Green
april 5, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2026
The musical takes place in a spectacular outdoor amphitheater that has stadium seating on one side of the stage and the jagged red-and-purple-striped formations of the Badlands rolling out for miles on the other.
—Beverly Gage, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2026
More adventurous folks can swim over to the deep basin to see the interesting formations below.
—Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 5 Apr. 2026
In the video, one airplane can be seen flying low over the ground while two helicopters follow closely behind – a formation that is consistent with an air-to-air refueling operation.
—Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for formation
Pj Green
april 5, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2026
The musical takes place in a spectacular outdoor amphitheater that has stadium seating on one side of the stage and the jagged red-and-purple-striped formations of the Badlands rolling out for miles on the other.
—Beverly Gage, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2026
More adventurous folks can swim over to the deep basin to see the interesting formations below.
—Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 5 Apr. 2026
In the video, one airplane can be seen flying low over the ground while two helicopters follow closely behind – a formation that is consistent with an air-to-air refueling operation.
—Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for formation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for formation
Noun
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Strict regulations required the new buildings to follow the exact blueprint of the original layout, so bungalows, villas and residences are scattered between lush gardens and the shoreline.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
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Here, the layout funnels life toward one central gathering space.—
David Caraccio
April 4,
Sacbee.com,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Video from GoPro cameras outside the capsule streamed down in low-resolution format, due to limitations on bandwidth coming back from deep space, but the Artemis II astronauts were expected to downlink sharper telephoto snapshots overnight Monday into Tuesday morning.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
7 Apr. 2026
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Kourtesis’ ear for texture and immersive sensibilities are well suited to the DJ-Kicks format, which favors channeling emotion and building tension.—
Matthew Ismael Ruiz,
Pitchfork,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Formation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/formation. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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