formatar

Senses

1. 1.

   to format

   to prepare a disk or storage device by organizing it to receive data

2. 2.

   to format

   to arrange text, documents, or content according to specific layout rules

3. 3.

   to format

   to structure or organize something in a particular way

Examples

• "Preciso formatar meu computador porque está muito lento."

  I need to format my computer because it's very slow.

• "Você pode me ajudar a formatar este documento no Word?"

  Can you help me format this document in Word?

• "Antes de vender o celular, não esqueça de formatar e apagar todos os dados."

  Before selling your phone, don't forget to format it and erase all data.

Usage

Very common in computing contexts. In Brazilian Portuguese, "formatar o computador" is colloquially used to mean reinstalling the operating system (not just formatting a disk). Often collocates with "HD" (hard drive), "pendrive," "computador," or "documento."