n.
Pronunciation: ' sh ā p
Function: verb
Inflected Form: shaped ; shap · ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sceapen, gescapen, past participle of scieppan; akin to Old High German skepfen to shape
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1 : FORM , CREATE especially : to give a particular form or shape to
2 obsolete : ORDAIN , DECREE
3 : to adapt in shape so as to fit neatly and closely <a dress shaped to her figure>
4 a : DEVISE , PLAN < shape a policy> b : to embody in definite form < shaping a folktale into an epic>
5 a : to make fit for (as a particular use or purpose) : ADAPT < shape the questions to fit the answers> b : to determine or direct the course or character of <events that shaped history> c : to modify (behavior) by rewarding changes that tend toward a desired response
intransitive verb
1 : to come to pass : HAPPEN <it's shaping up that I am known now for my husbands ― Leslie Marmon Silko>
2 : to take on or approach a mature or definite form ― often used with up <the summer is shaping up to be one of the hottest on record>
– shap · er noun