What does "force" mean?

1. (physical power) physical strength or energy that can move or change something. 2. (physics) a push or pull on an object that makes it move or change direction. 3. (an organized group) a group of people organized for a specific job, like the police or the army. 4. (legal validity) the state of being officially or legally active. 5. (Star Wars) a mysterious power used by characters in the Star Wars movies. 6. (to compel) to make someone do something they do not want to do. 7. (to break open) to use physical strength to open something that is locked or stuck.

force — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01physical power

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. physical strength or energy that can move or change something.

n. physical power or intensity exerted by a person, object, or natural phenomenon.

“The force of the wind was so strong that it blew down several trees.”

“The sheer force of the impact crushed the front of the vehicle, though the safety features protected the passengers from serious injury.”

Synonyms

strength power might

Antonyms

weakness frailty

02physics

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Science Technical

n. a push or pull on an object that makes it move or change direction.

n. a vector quantity that tends to produce an acceleration of a body in the direction of its application.

“Gravity is the force that keeps our feet on the ground.”

“The experiment measures the gravitational force between two masses to determine the constant with greater precision.”

Synonyms

pressure energy

03an organized group

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. a group of people organized for a specific job, like the police or the army.

n. a body of people trained and armed for military or police duties.

“He decided to join the police force after finishing university.”

“The peacekeeping force was deployed to the border to monitor the ceasefire and prevent further escalations of violence.”

Synonyms

unit corps squad

04legal validity

C1 · Advanced Uncountable noun Law Formal

n. the state of being officially or legally active.

n. the state of being legally valid or in operation.

“The new law comes into force starting next month.”

“The treaty remains in force until such time as a majority of the signatory nations vote for its dissolution.”

Synonyms

validity effect

Antonyms

invalidity

05Star Wars

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun Humorous

n. a mysterious power used by characters in the Star Wars movies.

n. a metaphysical power or energy field in the Star Wars fictional universe.

“May the Force be with you.”

“The protagonist's journey involves learning to harness the Force to restore balance to the galaxy.”

06to compel

B1 · Intermediate

v. to make someone do something they do not want to do.

v. to compel or oblige someone to act in a certain way, often through pressure or threats.

“You cannot force him to eat his vegetables if he really hates them.”

“The economic crisis may force the government to implement unpopular austerity measures to secure the international loan.”

Synonyms

compel coerce oblige

Antonyms

permit allow

07to break open

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to use physical strength to open something that is locked or stuck.

v. to break open or through something by using physical violence or pressure.

“The firefighters had to force the door open to reach the family.”

“The burglars managed to force the safe, though they were interrupted by the alarm before they could remove the contents.”

Synonyms

break pry

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “force” in context.

Verb

01. apply force

“You need to apply force to the lever to get it to move.”

verb + noun

02. force behind

“Hard work was the main force behind his sudden success.”

noun + prep

03. force increases

“As the speed of the car rises, the force of the impact increases.”

noun + verb

04. join forces

“The two companies decided to join forces to dominate the market.”

verb + noun

Adjective

05. brute force

“The thieves used brute force to break open the heavy metal door.”

adj + noun

06. lethal force

“The police are only permitted to use lethal force in extreme situations.”

adj + noun

07. sheer force

“The roof was blown off by the sheer force of the wind.”

adj + noun

08. driving force

“She was the driving force behind the new environmental project.”

adj + noun

Noun

09. member of force

“He has been a member of the police force for over twenty years.”

noun + prep + noun

10. by force of habit

“He checked his watch every few minutes by force of habit.”

11. resort to force

“They hoped to settle the dispute without having to resort to force.”

12. come into force

“The new tax laws will come into force next January.”

“Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year.”

BBC 17 Nov 2025

“In January 2018, while she was pregnant, he forced liquid soap into her mouth on eleven occasions, compelling her to ingest it.”

BBC 17 Jan 2025

“Plans to give judges more powers to force criminals to attend sentencing could act as a deterrent, families of victims of serious offenders have said.”

BBC 31 Aug 2023

“Now the Ministry of Justice says judges will be able to order an offender to attend a sentencing hearing and make it "clear in law" that reasonable force can be used by custody officers to make sure this happens.”

BBC 30 Aug 2023

From Middle English force, fors, forse, from Old French force, from Late Latin fortia, a noun derived from the neuter plural of Latin fortis (“strong”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).

From Middle English forcen, from Old French forcier, from Late Latin *fortiāre, from Latin fortia.

From Middle English force, forz, fors, from Old Norse fors (“waterfall”), from Proto-Germanic *fursaz (“waterfall”). Cognate with Icelandic foss (“waterfall”), Norwegian foss (“waterfall”), Swedish fors (“waterfall”). Doublet of foss.