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

It’s certainly arguable that California’s law requiring Uber and Lyft drivers be classified as employees is a bad law with unintended consequences.

From Fortune

That ballot measure would exempt app-based drivers from having to comply with AB 5, the state law limiting when employers can classify their workers as independent contractors.

From Voice of San Diego

For now, we’re classifying it as a living project and welcoming spin-offs.

From MIT Technology Review

In the next step, you need to classify your user base into specific groups, each of which will be targeted for unique marketing campaigns that cater to its needs.

From Search Engine Watch

Both ride-hailing services threatened to temporarily shut down their operations in California after a judge declined to carve out an exemption for them from AB5, the new state law that would require the companies to classify drivers as employees.

From Quartz

Or perhaps we instinctively classify Cubans as a people accustomed to being told what it is they need and want.

From The Daily Beast

While some may classify that inactivity as laziness or indifference, Brown suggests the contrary.

From The Daily Beast

If the doctor is biased, he may still classify it as a disorder that can lead to legal repercussions.

From The Daily Beast

The end goal is to classify what happens when the memory goes awry.

From The Daily Beast

There is a debate among experts about how to classify and define the effects of a lithium-ion battery meltdown.

From The Daily Beast

We would classify these two departments in this way, though in the highest dramatic work elements of both phases are combined.

From Project Gutenberg

Classify each leukocyte seen, and calculate what percentage each variety is of the whole number classified.

From Project Gutenberg

Apple-growers classify apples into three different kinds, each consisting of a great many separate varieties.

From Project Gutenberg

Among them he found so many curious and various specimens that he was induced not only to draw but also to classify them.

From Project Gutenberg

It will be an useful task if I attempt to classify the evidence on each side, and to draw an inference therefrom.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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