• (America) enPR: fôrs, IPA: /fɔɹs/, [fo̞ɹs]
• (RP) IPA: /fɔːs/
• (rhotic, non-horse-hoarse) enPR: fōrs, IPA: /fo(ː)ɹs/
• (non-rhotic, non-horse-hoarse) IPA: /foəs/

From Middle English force, fors, forse, from Old French force, from Late Latin fortia, a noun derived from the neuter plural of Latin fortis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ-.

force

1. Strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.

   the force of an appeal, an argument, or a contract

   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 14, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC ↗:

     He was, in the full force of the words, a good man.

2. Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     which now they hold by force, and not by right

3. (countable) Anything that is able to make a substantial change in a person or thing.
4. (countable, physics) A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn)
5. Something or anything that has the power to produce a physical effect upon something else, such as causing it to move or change shape.
6. (countable) A group that aims to attack, control, or constrain.

   reinforcemented increased the American force in the area to 9,000

   police force

   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Is Lucius general of the forces?

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗:

     "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there. […]."

7. (uncountable) The ability to attack, control, or constrain.

   show of force

8. (countable) A magic trick in which the outcome is known to the magician beforehand, especially one involving the apparent free choice of a card by another person.
9. (legal) Legal validity.

   The law will come into force in January.

10. (legal) Either unlawful violence, as in a "forced entry", or lawful compulsion.
11. (linguistics, semantics, pragmatics) Ability of an utterance or its element (word, form, prosody, ...) to effect a given meaning.
12. (humorous or science fiction, with the, often, capitalized) A metaphysical and ubiquitous power from the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. See usage note. [1977]
13. (usually with "the", in the singular or plural) Synonym of police force
    • 1992, Rage Against the Machine (band), Killing in the Name:

      Some of those that work forces / Are the same that burn crosses

• German: Kraft
• Spanish: fuerza

• Spanish: fuerza

• French: force
• German: Gewalt
• Italian: forza
• Portuguese: força
• Russian: си́ла
• Spanish: fuerza

• French: force
• German: Kraft
• Italian: forza
• Portuguese: força
• Russian: си́ла
• Spanish: fuerza

• French: forces
• German: Kräfte
• Italian: forza
• Portuguese: força
• Russian: отря́д

• French: pouvoir
• German: Kraft
• Portuguese: força
• Russian: си́ла

• French: truc

• Portuguese: validade
• Russian: власть

• Russian: си́ла

• French: Force
• German: Macht
• Portuguese: força

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

force (forces, present participle forcing; simple past and past participle forced)

1. (transitive) To violate (a woman); to rape. [from 14^thc.]
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter [https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/MaloryWks2/1:7.5?rgn=div2;view=fulltext V], in Le Morte Darthur, book V:

     For yf ye were suche fyfty as ye be / ye were not able to make resystence ageynst this deuyl / here lyeth a duchesse deede the whiche was the fayrest of alle the world wyf to syre Howel / duc of Bretayne / he hath murthred her in forcynge her / and has slytte her vnto the nauyl

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 1, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC ↗:

     a young woman not farre from mee had headlong cast her selfe out of a high window, with intent to kill herselfe, only to avoid the ravishment of a rascally-base souldier that lay in her house, who offered to force her […].

2. (obsolete, reflexive, intransitive) To exert oneself, to do one's utmost. [from 14^thc.]
   • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum xxi”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book XVIII, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC ↗; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC ↗:

     And I pray you for my sake to force yourselff there, that men may speke you worshyp.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (transitive) To make someone or something do something, often regardless of their will. [from 15^thc.]
   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗:

     Captain Edward Carlisle […] felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, […]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.

4. (transitive) To constrain by force; to overcome the limitations or resistance of. [from 16^thc.]
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC ↗:

     Shall wee force the general law of nature, which in all living creatures under heaven is seene to tremble at paine?

5. (transitive) To drive (something) by force, to propel (generally + prepositional phrase or adverb). [from 16^thc.]
   • 1697, Virgil, translated by John Dryden, The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗:

     It stuck so fast, so deeply buried lay / That scarce the victor forced the steel away.

   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene iii]:

     to force the tyrant from his seat by war

   • 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC ↗:

     Ethelbert […] ordered that none should be forced into religion.

6. (transitive) To cause to occur (despite inertia, resistance etc.); to produce through force. [from 16^thc.]

   The comedian's jokes weren't funny, but I forced a laugh now and then.

7. (transitive) To forcibly open (a door, lock etc.). [from 17^thc.]

   To force a lock.

8. To obtain or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress.
9. (transitive, baseball) To create an out by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground.

   Jones forced the runner at second by stepping on the bag.

10. (whist) To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit that he/she does not hold.
11. (archaic) To put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce.
    • 1612–1613 (date written), John Webster, The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy. […], London: […] Nicholas Okes, for Iohn Waterson, […], published 1623, →OCLC ↗, Act I, scene ii ↗:

      VVhat can the Church force more?

12. (archaic) To provide with forces; to reinforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison.
    • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene v], page 150 ↗, column 1, lines 5–7:

      Were they not forc’d with thoſe that ſhould be ours, / We might haue met them darefull, beard to beard, / And beate them backward home.

13. (obsolete) To allow the force of; to value; to care for.
    • 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC ↗:

      For me, I force not argument a straw.

14. To grow (rhubarb) in the dark, causing it to grow early.

• French: forcer, contraindre
• German: zwingen
• Italian: forzare, costringere
• Portuguese: forçar, obrigar, compelir
• Russian: заставля́ть
• Spanish: obligar

• French: forcer
• German: erzwingen
• Italian: forzare
• Portuguese: forçar
• Spanish: forzar

• Italian: forzare
• Portuguese: arrombar

From Middle English force, forz, fors, from Old Norse fors, from Proto-Germanic *fursaz.

force (plural forces)

1. (countable, Northern England) A waterfall or cascade.
   • 1778, Thomas West, A Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire:

     to see the falls or force of the river Kent

From Middle English forcen, forsen, a use of force, with confusion of farce ("to stuff").

force (forces, present participle forcing; simple past and past participle forced)

1. To stuff; to lard; to farce.
   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene i]:

     Wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit.

From Old Norse fors or foss ("waterfall").

1. (Northern England) Falls. used in place names.

1. Surname.