noun

mold

mohld

noun

A hollow container used to shape a liquid or soft substance as it sets or hardens.

"She poured the melted chocolate into a heart-shaped mold."

A fuzzy fungal growth that develops on food or damp surfaces.

"Green mold had spread across the old loaf of bread."

verb

To shape something, or to influence how a person or thing develops.

"Good coaches mold young athletes as much as they train them."

"The clay was molded into a small bowl."

How to Use Mold

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither a shaping container/pattern, or the furry fungus that grows on old food and damp walls — two unrelated meanings that happen to share a spelling.

UK vs US

Spelled "mould" in British English, for both the shaping and fungus senses.

Common pairings

ice cube mold black mold break the mold

Word Forms

molded past tense, molded past tense, molded past tense, molds plural, molds plural, molds plural, molds singular, molds singular, molds singular

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She poured the melted chocolate into a heart-shaped _____.

Etymology

The shaping sense comes from Old French modle, from Latin modulus/modus. The fungus sense has a separate Old English root related to soil.

Rhymes for mold

old gold cold bold hold sold fold scold ahold behold uphold untold

See all rhymes for mold →