I. ˈfȯrˌmat, -ȯ(ə)ˌm-, usu -ad.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: French or German; French, from German, from Latin formatus, past participle of formare (probably in such contexts as New Latin liber in quarto formatus volume formed in quarto)
1.
a. : the shape and size of a publication as determined by the number of times each constituent sheet has been folded
in octavo format each sheet is folded 3 times to produce 8 leaves
— compare book tables
b. : the general makeup or style of a publication
a double-column format
loose-leaf format
2. : general plan of physical organization or arrangement (as of a television show or the design of a coin)
the format of the new show included a careful balance of music and comedy
students are given practice exercises to acquaint them with the format of the tests
3. : size , shape , proportion
a rare stamp of triangular format
cameras employing formats up to 24 by 36 millimeters
the exceptionally tall format of the panels
II. noun
1. : a particular method of organizing data (as for storage)
2. : the medium upon which data or a recording is stored
the primary format was videocassette instead of laserdisc
III. transitive verb
( formatted ; formatted ; formatting ; formats -s )
Etymology: format , noun
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
format a floppy disk
• for·mat·ter ˈfȯrˌmad.ər, -ȯ(ə)ˌm- noun