Definition

1. Noun:

   • Physical power or strength: The capacity to do work or cause physical change; energy or intensity applied to an object.
   • Coercion or compulsion: Power exerted upon someone against their will; violence or pressure.
   • A body of people prepared for action: An organized group, especially a military or police unit.
   • Influence or effectiveness: The power to affect, persuade, or impress.
   • Validity or effect: The state of being operative, as in a law or rule.
   • (Physics) An influence that changes motion: A vector quantity that can cause an object with mass to change its velocity.

2. Verb:

   • To make someone do something against their will: To compel or coerce through pressure, threat, or strength.
   • To achieve or move by using strength: To push, drive, or break open using physical power.
   • To impose or strain: To cause something to happen or be accepted through effort or unnatural means.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The force of the wind knocked down the trees. (Physical power)
  • They took the land by force. (Coercion)
  • The police force maintained order. (Organized group)
  • Her argument carried great force. (Influence)
  • The new regulations are now in force. (Validity)
  • Gravity is a fundamental force in nature. (Physics)

• Verb:

  • You can't force me to sign that document. (Compel)
  • He forced the door open with his shoulder. (Move using strength)
  • Don't force the key into the lock; you might break it. (Impose or strain)

Advanced Usage

• "In force": Present in large numbers; or, legally valid and operative.

  • Protesters turned out in force to oppose the new law.
  • The old contract is no longer in force.

• "Force someone's hand": To pressure someone into acting or revealing their plans sooner than intended.

  • The leak of information forced the CEO's hand, making her announce the merger early.

• "Force the issue": To take action to make a decision necessary, especially when others are avoiding it.

  • We need to force the issue and get a final answer from the committee.

Variants and Related Words

• Forcible (adj): Done by or involving force; strong and effective.
  • The police made a forcible entry.
• Forceful (adj): Powerful and assertive in character or expression.
  • She is a forceful advocate for change.
• Enforce (v): To compel observance of or compliance with (a law, rule, or obligation).
  • It is the government's duty to enforce the law.

Synonyms

• Noun: Strength, power, coercion, pressure, might, violence, unit, squad, validity, effect.
• Verb: Compel, coerce, pressure, drive, push, thrust, ram, wrench.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Force back: To suppress or hold back (e.g., tears, anger).
  • She forced back her tears during the speech.
• Force out: To expel or cause someone to leave.
  • The scandal forced the minister out of office.
• Force on/upon: To impose something unwanted on someone.
  • He's always forcing his opinions on others.

Related Idioms

• Brute force: The use of sheer physical strength or power, without finesse or intelligence.
  • We couldn't pick the lock, so we had to use brute force to break the door down.
• A force to be reckoned with: A person or thing of significant power or influence that must be taken seriously.
  • After their latest victory, the team is a force to be reckoned with.
• Join/combine forces: To unite efforts with another person or group for a common purpose.
  • The two charities joined forces to provide disaster relief.

Noun

1. a putout of a base runner who is required to run; the putout is accomplished by holding the ball while touching the base to which the runner must advance before the runner reaches that base
   • the shortstop got the runner at second on a force
2. (of a law) having legal validity
   • the law is still in effect
3. a group of people having the power of effective action
   • he joined forces with a band of adventurers
4. one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority
   • the mysterious presence of an evil power
   • may the force be with you
   • the forces of evil
5. an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
   • he may accomplish by craft in the long run what he cannot do by force and violence in the short one
6. a unit that is part of some military service
   • he sent Caesar a force of six thousand men
7. group of people willing to obey orders
   • a public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens
8. physical energy or intensity
   • he hit with all the force he could muster
   • it was destroyed by the strength of the gale
   • a government has not the vitality and forcefulness of a living man
9. (physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity
   • force equals mass times acceleration
10. a powerful effect or influence
    • the force of his eloquence easily persuaded them

Verb

1. take by force
   • Storm the fort
2. do forcibly; exert force
   • Don't force it!
3. cause to move by pulling
   • draw a wagon
   • pull a sled
4. force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically
   • She rammed her mind into focus
   • He drives me mad
5. squeeze like a wedge into a tight space
   • I squeezed myself into the corner
6. impose urgently, importunately, or inexorably
   • She forced her diet fads on him
7. move with force, "He pushed the table into a corner"
8. urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate
9. to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means :"She forced him to take a job in the city"
   • He squeezed her for information