Crossword Dictionary
FORMULA
formula, formulae, formulas - n
an exact method for doing something
Synonyms
blueprint, canon, code, credo, creed, custom, description, direction, equation, form, formulary, maxim, method, precept, prescription, principle, procedure, rite, ritual, rote, rubric, specifications, theorem, way
Examples
Every morning before I went to school I had chores to do, which began with mixing up the formula and feeding the calves.
The students could not figure out the math problem until their teacher provided them with a helpful formula.
Aiden's mother sent a big tub of formula to daycare so he would not get hungry.
Etymology
1630s, "words used in a ceremony or ritual" (earlier as a Latin word in English), from Latin formula "form, draft, contract, regulation;" in law, "a rule, method;" literally "small form," diminutive of forma "form" (see form (n.)). Modern sense is colored by Carlyle's use (1837) of the word in a sense of "rule slavishly followed without understanding" [OED]. From 1706 as "a prescription, a recipe;" mathematical use is from 1796; chemistry sense is from 1842. In motor racing, "class or specification of a car" (usually by engine size), 1927.