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.
Computers. 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.
verb (used with object), formatted, formatting.
5.
to plan or provide a format for:
to format the annual telethon.
6.
Computers.
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.
verb (used without object), formatted, formatting.
7.
to devise a format.
Origin
1830-40; < French < Latin (liber) fōrmātus (a book) formed (in a certain way)
Related forms
formatter, noun
preformat, verb (used with object), preformatted, preformatting.
reformat, verb, reformatted, reformatting.
Examples from the web for format
When arts administrators plan public readings, they should avoid the standard subculture format of poetry only.
Librarians have been saying they want and need to buy more scholarly monographs in electronic format.
It seems that customers don't want to re-buy films in yet another format.
If the new advertiser-friendly format is necessary to keep the magazine in business, it's a small price to pay.
Ballad sheets are a printed song format that doesn't exist any longer.
Of course, if it mattered at all, content was soon re-made to fit the new format.
All employment information should be presented in the same format.
The prime minister used up precious seconds of his closing address to complain about the format.
The revitalization of the movie industry lies not in digital format.
Instead, provide relevant information in a format that is easily grasped by the reader.
British Dictionary definitions for format
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.
(computing)
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
the arrangement of text on printed output or a display screen, or a coded description of such an arrangement
verb (transitive) -mats, -matting, -matted
5.
to arrange (a book, page, etc) into a specified format
Word Origin
C19: via French from German, from Latin liber formātus volume formed
Word Origin and History for format
n.
1840, via French format (18c.), ultimately from Modern Latin liber formatus "a book formed" (in such and such a way), referring to shape, size; from past participle of formare "to form" (see form (v.)).
v.
used chiefly of computers, 1964, from format (n.). Related: Formatted; formatting.
format in Science
format
(fôr'māt') Noun The arrangement of data for storage or display.
Verb
To divide a disk into marked sectors so that it may store data.
To determine the arrangement of data for storage or display.
format in Technology
1. disk format - to prepare a new, blank disk for writing. 2. file format - how data is arranged in a specific type of file. (2007-09-04)