format
nounverbattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈfɔː(ɹ).mæt//
- United States//ˈfɔːɹ.mæt//
The layout of a publication or document.
noun
- 1
The layout of a publication or document.
The older manuscripts had been written in a much larger format than that found convenient for university work.
- 2
The form of presentation of something.
- 3
The type of programming that a radio station broadcasts; such as a certain genre of music, news, sports, talk, etc.
The radio station changed the format of its evening program.
- 4
A file type.
Etymology
Via French format and German Format, from New Latin liber fōrmātus (“book fashioned”), from fōrmō (“to shape, fashion”).
verb
- 1
To create or edit the layout of a document.
- 2
Change a document so it will fit onto a different type of page.
- 3
To prepare a mass storage medium for initial use, erasing any existing data in the process.
I lost weeks of work when I inadvertently formatted my hard drive.
Forms
- plural
- formats
- past tense
- formatted
- past participle
- formatted
- present participle
- formatting
- third person singular
- formats