format

American  

[fawr-mat] / ˈfɔr mæt /

noun

• formats
  plural

1. the shape and size of a book as determined by the number of times the original sheet has been folded to form the leaves.

2. the general physical appearance of a book, magazine, or newspaper, such as the typeface, binding, quality of paper, margins, etc.

3. the organization, plan, style, or type of something.

   The format of the show allowed for topical and controversial gags.

4. Computers. the arrangement of data for computer input or output, such as the number and size of fields in a record or the spacing and punctuation of information in a report.

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verb (used with object)

• formats,
  present (3rd person singular)
• formatted,
  past participle,  past
• formatting
  present participle

1. to plan or provide a format for.

   to format the annual telethon.

2. Computers.

   1. to set the format of (input or output).

      Some word-processing programs format output in a variety of ways.

   2. to prepare (a disk) for writing and reading.

verb (used without object)

• formats,
  present (3rd person singular)
• formatted,
  past participle,  past
• formatting
  present participle

1. to devise a format.

format British  

/ ˈfɔːmæt /

noun

1. the general appearance of a publication, including type style, paper, binding, etc

2. an approximate indication of the size of a publication as determined by the number of times the original sheet of paper is folded to make a leaf See also duodecimo quarto

3. style, plan, or arrangement, as of a television programme

4. computing

   1. the defined arrangement of data encoded in a file or for example on magnetic disk or CD-ROM, essential for the correct recording and recovery of data on different devices

   2. the arrangement of text on printed output or a display screen, or a coded description of such an arrangement

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verb

1. to arrange (a book, page, etc) into a specified format

format Scientific  

/ fôr′măt′ /

1. The arrangement of data for storage or display.

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1. To divide a disk into marked sectors so that it may store data.

2. To determine the arrangement of data for storage or display.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• formatter
  noun
• reformat
  verb
• preformat
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• formats
  plural

Participles

• formatting
  present
• formatted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• format
  simple
• formats
  simple
• have formatted
  perfect
• has formatted
  perfect
• am formatting
  progressive
• are formatting
  progressive
• is formatting
  progressive
• have been formatting
  perfect progressive
• has been formatting
  perfect progressive

Past

• formatted
  simple
• had formatted
  perfect
• was formatting
  progressive
• were formatting
  progressive
• had been formatting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will format
  simple
• will have formatted
  perfect
• will be formatting
  progressive
• will have been formatting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of format

First recorded in 1830–40; from French, from Latin (liber) fōrmātus “(book) shaped (in a specified way)”; see formation ( def. )

Explanation

In saving a new electronic document, you must choose a format, for instance PDF, Word doc, or XML, which dictates how the information is to be organized, displayed, and manipulated. To format information is to arrange it according to preexisting parameters. Electronic files require a format or, more commonly, a "file type," so computers will know how to open, read, and change them. Entertainment media are delivered in such varied formats as VHS, CD, DVD, MP3, and MOV. In the world of AM/FM radio, format is the type of music a station plays, such as top-40, urban, dance, or country.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

format formats formatted formatting

She is now calling for horse passports to be made digital because some buyers have said the paper format can lead to key information about the horse's medical history being undisclosed during the sale.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

The scoring format, designed to shorten matches in the first three rounds, features sets to four games, with a tiebreaker at 4-all and a 10-point tiebreaker instead of a third set.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

It then became the projector used at L.A.’s Vista Theater, one of only four theaters in the world able to show film in the VistaVision format.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

As to why people may still have interest in short-form content when many apps such as YouTube and TikTok have moved towards much longer videos, he compared Vine's format to the haiku.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

I did not want to be limited to that format.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

In Instagram’s case, the brand also rolled out a new “brand system,” including new fonts, icons, and formats for posts.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

The seamer fell out of favour after a run across formats, meaning she watched England's iconic 2017 World Cup win at Lord's from a hospitality box.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Collecting 16 VistaVision titles, the series follows a recent uptick in audience interest concerning projection formats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

At this point, it's probably worth noting that no man has scored more international runs across formats since Brook made his Test debut in 2022.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Public subsidy allowed formats that had become financially unviable - such as the nineteenth-century symphony orchestra - to prosper somewhat artificially in the twentieth century, justified by the preservation of heritage.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

"AI thrives on recognising patterns. And legal citations and arguments are always formatted in the same way, so it's easy for an AI to follow a template and generate fake ones," said Charlotin.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

However, Wells participated in a CBP webinar last week, so she knew how to create a properly formatted file herself, and quickly made her submission on Monday morning.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026

The letter was formatted similarly to a diplomatic note and carried an official Cuban seal, the current U.S. official said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

The neon signs, which include protest language and adapt time-honored slogans, are formatted as storefront installations and signs for lawns and demonstrations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2025

Lon Teter arrived in the final month to serve as, in effect, production foreman—getting an immense and complicated body of work checked, formatted, and into the paper on time.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

While both phones and laptops now have high-quality cameras, the formatting is a dead giveaway that you’re not on a laptop, says Melissa Marcus, a career coach who worked as a recruiter for 20 years.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

Some journals are experimenting with artificial intelligence to screen submissions or flag common problems, like issues with document formatting.

From Slate ● May 3, 2026

All memos in the governor’s office are written in 12 point Century Gothic font with specific spacing between lines, formatting that his aides say helps him with his disability.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

My house is filled to overflowing with clothes I will never wear, books I will never read and pocket-size external hard drives I will never get around to formatting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

She wasn’t using a word-processing program of any kind—in fact, she was bypassing much of the operating system—and whatever formatting was imposing itself on the words, it wasn’t hers.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• arrangement
• composition
• configuration
• form
• layout
• organization
• pattern
• plan
• scheme
• setup
• shape
• size
• style