From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishin the shape of somethingin the shape of somethingCONSIST OF/BE MADE OFused to explain what something consists of Help came in the shape of a $10,000 loan from his parents. → shape
Examples from the Corpus
in the shape of something• It was a bun baked in the shape of a bagel.• Where languages grow most unlike one another as they drift apart is in the shapes of their words.• Volunteers, sometimes wearing blue lapel pins in the shape of crutches, raised money in numerous and often ingenious ways.• Well, apart from our man with his arms cut off and placed in the shape of a swastika.• It is noteworthy that the application sought relief in the shape of a declaration, injunctions and damages.• Management decidedly can not rely on having its spokesmen on the spot in the shape of co-operative station staff.• Part of the bank here was in the shape of a sea wall, with a miniature promenade running along the top.• The stable had lost its star, but there was another in the wings in the shape of Chaplins Club. 