PDF

American

abbreviation

Digital Technology.

portable document format:
1. a file format that makes it possible to display text and graphics in the same fixed layout on any computer screen.
2. a document or file in this format.

PDF British

abbreviation

portable document format: a format in which documents may be viewed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of PDF

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

PDF

They'll stay with the PDF for now, but will be taken to the border with Thailand eventually, "because if we return now", one says, "the military could still track us".

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

I've sent a PDF of my book to my friends and asked them to distribute it.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

This is the case even if you have the Patreon app, which I downloaded in hopes it would get around the PDF, but alas.

From Salon ● May 12, 2026

She showed Claudius a PDF “proving” the business was a Delaware-incorporated public-benefit corporation whose mission “shall include fun, joy and excitement among employees of The Wall Street Journal.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

If you need staff paper, you can download this PDF file86 .

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023