format

UK: /ˈfɔː^rmæt/ US: /ˈfɔrmæt/ ,(fôr′mat)

Inflections of 'format' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

formats

v 3rd person singular

formatting

v pres p

formatted

v past

formatted

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

for•mat /ˈfɔrmæt/   n., v., -mat•ted, -mat•ting. 
n. [countable]

1. the organization, plan, or style of something, such as the general appearance of a book, magazine, or newspaper.
2. Computing the arrangement of data for computer input or output.

v. [~ + object]

3. to plan or provide a format for.
4. Computing
   • to set the format of:
     to format a computer document.
   • to prepare (a computer disk) for writing and reading.

See -form-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

for•mat  (fôr′mat), n., v., -mat•ted, -mat•ting. 
n. 

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. Cf. duodecimo, folio (def. 2), octavo, quarto. 
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. Computing 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.

v.t. 

5. Radio and Television to plan or provide a format for:
   to format the annual telethon.
6. Computing
   • to set the format of (input or output):
     Some word-processing programs format output in a variety of ways.
   • to prepare (a disk) for writing and reading.

v.i. 

7. to devise a format.

• Latin (liber) fōrmātus (a book) formed (in a certain way)
• French
• 1830–40

for′mat•ter, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

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

verb ( -mats, -matting, -matted)(transitive)

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

Etymology: 19th Century: via French from German, from Latin liber formātus volume formed