Configurations are arrangements of objects or elements in a particular order or structure. They can be used to describe the physical arrangement of objects, such as shapes, or the logical arrangement of elements, such as computer settings. The term 'configurations' is often used in mathematics and computer science to refer to the arrangement of elements in a particular order. In the crossword puzzle, the solution for the term 'configurations' was 'shapes', which refers to the physical arrangement of objects in a particular form.