Word.ws English Dictionary

formatize

formatize verb: to trim or add to a picture in order to make it fit into a standard frame size.

Verb

formatize (third-person singular simple present formatizes, present participle formatizing, simple past and past participle formatized)

  1. (rare) To trim or add to a picture in order to make it fit into a standard frame size.
    • The desired symmetry was only achieved by "formatizing" great masterpieces; and this was why Christian von Mechel had to remove additions to pictures and remedy losses when the Hapsburg paintings were moved from the Stallburg to the new museum in the Belvedere Palace.1982, Joseph Alsop, The Rare Art Traditions, page 120
    • While not as destructive as formatizing, this close trimming is a further indication that the albums are art collections and not essentially print collections, for even in the eighteenth century a diehard print collector would always prefer ...1992, Marjorie B. Cohn, A noble collection: the Spencer albums of old master prints, page 42
  2. (rare) To prepare a specimen so that it fits a standard size and shape.
    • A small hacksaw was used to formatize rock specimens.1968, Serviços Geológicos de Portugal, Contribuição para a fauna do Kimeridgiano da mina de lignito Guimarota (Leiria, Portugal), page 11
    • Part of specimen in Fig. 2 after formatizing and cutting.2009, V. P. Wright, M. E. Tucker, Calcretes (Reprint Series Volume 2 of the IAS), →ISBN, page 234
  3. (rare) To translate or render into a specific format.
    • The 'reference file' ICDSOL is built by means of an auxiliary program, ICDTEST, that simply reads correction commands, according to a format similar to that of the stored commands, and then it checks, formatizes and finally stores them in the disc file ICDSOT.1976, IEEE Computer Society, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Technology for Selective Dissemination of Information
    • My desire was to give her half, because she had helped me with the project, of digiting and formatizing the work to be presented in a power point presentation at my summer conferences.2012, Ivan Pitzer de Souza, The Relational Intelligence, →ISBN, page 28

Forms of formatize

third-person singular presentformatizes
present participleformatizing
past participleformatized
pastformatized

Origin of formatize

From format + -ize.

Questions about formatize

What does formatize mean?
Formatize means to trim or add to a picture in order to make it fit into a standard frame size.
What part of speech is formatize?
Formatize is a verb.
What is the past tense of formatize?
The past tense of formatize is formatized.

Words near formatize in the dictionary

  1. formative
  2. formatively
  3. formativeness
  4. formatives
  5. formativity
  6. formatize
  7. formatized
  8. formatizes
  9. formatizing
  10. formator
  11. formators

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: formatize (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “formatize.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/formatize. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.