Format
//ˈfɔːɹ.mæt// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
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 general appearance of a publication wordnet
- 3 The form of presentation of something. broadly
- 4 the organization of information according to preset specifications (usually for computer processing) wordnet
- 5 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."
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- 6 A file type.
Verb
- 1 To create or edit the layout of a document.
- 2 divide (a disk) into marked sectors so that it may store data wordnet
- 3 Change a document so it will fit onto a different type of page.
- 4 determine the arrangement of (data) for storage and display (in computer science) wordnet
- 5 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."
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- 6 set (printed matter) into a specific format wordnet
Example
More examples"I have installed Microsoft Office on my personal computer, so please use its file format when you send me the attachment."
Etymology
Via French format and German Format, from New Latin liber fōrmātus (“book fashioned”), from fōrmō (“I shape, fashion”).
Related phrases
More for "format"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.