formation
n. C / Un. the process of making or starting something, or the way something is shaped. It can also describe a group of people or things moving together in a specific pattern.
n. the act of giving form or shape to something, or the resulting structure or arrangement. Often used to describe geological development, military positioning, or the creation of an organization.
The birds fly in a V formation.
The coach changed the team's formation to a more defensive style for the final half of the match.
Geologists spent months studying the rock formation to determine whether the layers were deposited by ancient river systems or volcanic activity.
From Middle English formacioun, formation, borrowed from Old French formacion, from Latin fōrmātiō, from fōrmō (“form”, verb); see form as verb. Morphologically form + -ation.
Uncountable when referring to the abstract process of creation; countable when referring to a specific arrangement or a physical structure.