I. ˈfȯr-ˌmat noun
Etymology: French or German; French, from German, from Latin formatus, past participle of formare to form, from forma
Date: 1840
1. : the shape, size, and general makeup (as of something printed)
2. : general plan of organization, arrangement, or choice of material (as for a television show)
3. : a method of organizing data (as for storage)
various file format s
II. transitive verb
( for·mat·ted ; for·mat·ting )
Date: 1964
1. : to arrange (as material to be printed or stored data) in a particular format
2. : to prepare (as a computer disk) for storing data in a particular format
• for·mat·ter noun