classified

American  

[klas-uh-fahyd] / ˈklæs əˌfaɪd /

adjective

1. arranged or distributed in classes or according to class.

   We plan to review all the classified specimens in the laboratory.

2. designating the part or parts of a publication that contain advertisements or lists arranged by category.

   The classified section of our little local newspaper is full of ads for garage sales and cleaning ladies.

3. (of information, a document, etc.)

   1. available only to authorized persons.

   2. bearing the designation classified.

4. confidential or secret.

   The firm's promotional budget for next year is classified information.

5. identified as belonging to a specific group or category, as one to which benefits or restrictions apply.

   Classified buildings are eligible for state-funded restoration. The bank has a list of classified customers to whom it will not make large loans.

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noun

1. classified ad.

classified British  

/ ˈklæsɪˌfaɪd /

adjective

1. arranged according to some system of classification

2. government (of information) not available to people outside a restricted group, esp for reasons of national security

3. (of information) closely concealed or secret

4. (of advertisements in newspapers, etc) arranged according to type

5. (of newspapers) containing sports results, esp football results

6. (of British roads) having a number in the national road system. If the number is preceded by an M the road is a motorway, if by an A it is a first-class road, and if by a B it is a secondary road

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Usage

What does classified mean? Classified means categorized or labeled in some way.Classified has several different meanings that all have to do with things being sorted in a certain way. It is commonly used to mean secret or confidential, as in that information is classified.Example: The agency keeps a list of people who have been classified as security risks.

Other Word Forms

• nonclassified adjective
• superclassified adjective
• well-classified adjective

Etymology

Origin of classified

First recorded in 1885–90; 1940–45 classified for def. 3; classify + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Pakistan is classified as a lower-middle-income country, with roughly 25 percent of its 240 million population living in poverty, as per World Bank data.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Based on its features, scientists classified it as a thescelosaurid, a group of two-legged dinosaurs found in East Asia and North America that may have had fuzzy coverings.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

But those rules are less clear-cut if workers are classified as employees, as employers often automatically own the copyright to their workers’ products.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

Joe Kent is under investigation in connection with alleged leaks of classified information, with sources telling CBS that the probe began before his departure as US National Counterterrorism Center director.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

Even if a bone looked just like a Neanderthal bone, it couldn’t be classified as one if it Ales Hrdlicka had been found in modern construction debris.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• confidential
• restricted