v. 1
To shape in or on a mold; to form into a particular shape; to give shape to.
Your hands shaped me and made me … Remember that you molded me like clay.
v. 2
To guide or determine the growth or development of; influence
n. 1
A hollow form or matrix for shaping a fluid or plastic substance.
n. 2
A frame or model around or on which something is formed or shaped.

Related words

Word family: moldability moldy moldboard
Phrases: artillery mold cake mold lava tree mold slime mold water mold
Is a kind of: growth fungus organism
Other spellings: mool mould UK

Forms

Plural: molds → moldings, modelings, modellings, mildews…
Past participle: molded
e.g. molded → shaped, formed, typed, worked…

Choose the right word

Mold, Bend or Bent?

Mold is a stronger work than bend; we may bend by a superior force that which still resists the constraint; as, a bent bow; we mold something plastic entirely to some desired form.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

shape Ken'nichi made a pond in the shape of Lake Geneva.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
mold		falling
shape		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: hew¹
4 letters: make¹, work¹, must¹, form¹, type¹, turn¹, cast¹, soil¹, bend¹, rust¹, smut¹, loam¹
5 letters: found¹, model², shape¹, stamp¹, forge¹, carve¹, knead¹, forme
6 letters: ground¹, matrix², fungus², blight¹, mildew², molder²
7 letters: imagine³, fashion², pattern², molding², moulder²
8 letters: regulate³, modeling³, moulding²
9 letters: influence³, determine³, construct², modelling³
11 letters: manufacture⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (model² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: mouler
Italiano: modellare
Español: moldear
Deutsch: Gießen