Format

How to spell format

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce format

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does format mean?

1. nounThe way in which something is arranged, presented, or organised.
2. verbTo arrange or prepare something, such as a document or a disk, into a particular structure.

Format in a sentence

• noun

  The report follows a strict format with numbered sections.

• verb

  You should format the document before sending it to the client.

• noun

  The new quiz show uses a fast-paced format to keep viewers engaged.

• verb

  The technician will format the drive to erase all the old files.

Where does format come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin formatus, the past participle of formare, meaning 'to shape' or 'to form', which in turn rests on forma, meaning 'shape' or 'figure'. It entered English in the early 1800s through the French and German use of the Latin phrase liber formatus, 'a book formed' in a particular way, describing the size and shape of a printed book. From that bookish beginning the sense broadened to mean the overall layout or arrangement of any document, and later any structured arrangement of information. When computing arrived in the twentieth century, format gained a fresh verb sense: to prepare a disk by laying down a structure it can store data in. The single 't' at the end is the spelling trap, since the verb forms double it ('formatting', 'formatted'), tempting writers to add a second 't' to the base word as well.

How the word is built

• form (shape, structure)
• -at (from Latin formatus, shaped)