classify

[ klas-uh-fahy ]

verb (used with object)

, clas·si·fied, clas·si·fy·ing.

1. to arrange or organize by classes; order according to class.

   Synonyms: group, categorize, rate, rank, class

2. to assign a classification to (information, a document, etc.). Compare classification ( def 5 ).
3. to limit the availability of (information, a document, etc.) to authorized persons.

classify

/ ˈklæsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to arrange or order by classes; categorize
2. government to declare (information, documents, etc) of possible aid to an enemy and therefore not available to people outside a restricted group

Derived Forms

• ˈclassiˌfier, noun
• ˈclassiˌfiable, adjective

Other Words From

• classi·fia·ble adjective
• mis·classi·fy verb (used with object) misclassified misclassifying
• non·classi·fia·ble adjective
• over·classi·fy verb (used with object) overclassified overclassifying
• pre·classi·fy verb (used with object) preclassified preclassifying
• un·classi·fia·ble adjective
• un·classi·fia·ble·ness noun
• un·classi·fia·bly adverb
• un·classi·fying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of classify¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Latin classi(s) class + -fy

Word History and Origins

Origin of classify¹

C18: back formation from classification

Example Sentences

There is a sense of urgency in the medical community to classify a positive biomarker test as “Stage One Alzheimer’s Disease.”

From Los Angeles Times

Leigh Day, the law firm representing the claimants, said the judgment confirmed "gig economy operators cannot continue to falsely classify their workers as independent contractors... to avoid providing the rights those workers are properly entitled to".

From BBC

Entire teams of economists and engineers even use “psychological tricks” to manipulate drivers without ever having to classify them as employees with corresponding rights.

From Slate

The lawsuit continued even after voters approved Proposition 22 in 2020 to uphold the authority of companies to classify drivers as independent contractors.

From Los Angeles Times

Smith and de Mesquita classify any country that falls to the right of that gray line as a “mature democracy,” and their surprising claim is that it has never happened that a country in that position on the graph has slid all the way to the far left — no mature democracy has ever become an autocracy.

From Salon

Related Words

• allocate
• analyze
• arrange
• distribute
• divide
• label
• organize
• segregate