force

Universal Words noun, verb noun violent action 1 [U] violent physical action used to obtain or achieve sth: The release of the hostages could not be achieved without the use of force. * The rioters were taken away by force. * The ultimatum contained the threat of military force. * We will achieve much more by persuasion than by brute force. * plans to seize power by force of arms (= by military force) physical strength 2 [U] the physical strength of sth that is shown as it hits sth else: the force of the blow / explosion / collision * The shopping centre took the full force of the blast. * She hits the ball with amazing force for someone so small. -< STRENGTH strong effect 3 [U] the strong effect or influence of sth: They realized the force of her argument. * He controlled himself by sheer force of will. * She spoke with force and deliberation. sb / sth with power 4 [C] a person or thing that has a lot of power or influence: economic / market forces * the forces of good / evil * Ron is the driving force (= the person who has the most influence) behind the project. * She's a force to be reckoned with (= a person who has a lot of power and influence and should therefore be treated seriously). * The expansion of higher education should be a powerful force for change. * Television has become a major force in American political life. * He was finally defeated by forces beyond his control. authority 5 [U] the authority of sth: These guidelines do not have the force of law. * The court ruled that these standards have force in British law. * The culprits must expect to face the full force of the law. group of people 6 [C+sing./pl.v.] a group of people who have been organized for a particular purpose: a member of the sales force * A large proportion of the labour force (= all the people who work in a particular company, area, etc.) is unskilled. seealsoWORKFORCE military 7 [C+sing./pl.v.] a group of people who have been trained to protect other people, usually by using weapons: a member of the security forces * rebel / government forces * a peace-keeping force seealsoAIRFORCE, POLICEFORCE, TASKFORCE 8 (the forces) [pl.] (BrE) the army, navy and air force: allied / defence forces seealsoTHEARMEDFORCES 9 (forces) [pl.] the weapons and soldiers that an army, etc. has, considered as things that may be used: strategic nuclear forces. police 10 (the force) [sing.] (BrE) the police force: He joined the force twenty years ago. physics 11 [C,U] an effect that causes things to move in a particular way: The moon exerts a force on the earth. * the force of gravity * magnetic / centrifugal force of wind 12 [C,usually sing.] a unit for measuring the strength of the wind: a force 9 gale * a gale force wind seealsoTOURDEFORCE IDIOMS bring sth into force to cause a law, rule, etc. to start being used: They are hoping to bring the new legislation into force before the end of the year. come / enter into force (of a law, rule, etc.) to start being used: When do the new regulations come into force? force of habit if you do sth from or out of force of habit, you do it automatically and in a particular way because you have always done it that way in the past: It's force of habit that gets me out of bed at 6.15 each morning. the forces of nature the power of the wind, rain, etc., especially when it causes damage or harm: They were fighting a losing battle against the forces of nature. in force 1 (of people) in large numbers: Protesters turned out in force. 2 (of a law, rule, etc.) being used: The new regulations are now in force. join / combine forces (with sb) to work together in order to achieve a shared aim: The two firms joined forces to win the contract. moreatSPENT verb make sb do sth 1 [oftenpassive] ~ sb (into sth / into doing sth) to make sb do sth that they do not want to do SYNCOMPEL [VN, VNtoinf] The President was forced into resigning. * The President was forced to resign. * [VNtoinf] I was forced to take a taxi because the last bus had left. * She forced herself to be polite to them. * [VN] He didn't force me-I wanted to go. * Ill health forced him into early retirement. * (spoken, humorous) 'I shouldn't really have any more.' 'Go on-force yourself!' * Public pressure managed to force a change in the government's position. use physical strength 2 to use physical strength to move sb/sth into a particular position: [VN] to force a lock / window / door (= to break it open using force) * He tried to force a copy of his book into my hand. * to force an entry (= to enter a building using force) * She forced her way through the crowd of reporters. * [VN-ADJ] The door had been forced open. make sth happen 3 [VN] to make sth happen, especially before other people are ready: He was in a position where he had to force a decision. * Building a new road here will force house prices down. a smile / laugh 4 [VN] to make yourself smile, laugh, etc. rather than doing it naturally fruit / plants 5 [VN] to make fruit, plants, etc. grow or develop faster than normal by keeping them in special conditions: forced rhubarb * (figurative) It is unwise to force a child's talent. IDIOMS force sb's hand to make sb do sth that they do not want to do or make them do it sooner than they had intended: They decided to strike to force the management's hand. force the issue to do sth to make people take action on sth quickly force the pace (especially BrE) 1 to run very fast in a race in order to make the other competitors run faster 2 to make sb do sth faster than they want to: The demonstrations have succeeded in forcing the pace of change. moreatTHROAT PHRASALVERBS force sth>-<back to make yourself hide an emotion: She swallowed hard and forced back her tears. force sth>-<down 1 to make yourself eat or drink sth that you do not really want: She felt sick but managed to force down a piece of toast. 2 to make a plane, etc. land, especially by threatening to attack it force sb/sth on / upon sb to make sb accept sth that they do not want: to force your attentions / opinions / company on sb force sth out of sb to make sb tell you sth, especially by threatening them: I managed to force the truth out of him. ______________________________ WORDFAMILY force n., v. forceful adj. forced adj. (=/= unforced) forcible adj. enforce v. ______________________________