taxonomy

American  

[tak-son-uh-mee] / tækˈsɒn ə mi /

noun

taxonomies plural

1. the science or technique of classification.

2. a classification into ordered categories.

   a proposed taxonomy of educational objectives.

3. Biology. the science dealing with the description, identification, naming, and classification of organisms.

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taxonomy British  

/ tækˈsɒnəmɪ, ˌtæksəˈnɒmɪk /

noun

1. 1. the branch of biology concerned with the classification of organisms into groups based on similarities of structure, origin, etc

   2. the practice of arranging organisms in this way

2. the science or practice of classification

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taxonomy Scientific  

/ tăk-sŏn′ə-mē /

1. The scientific classification of organisms into specially named groups based either on shared characteristics or on evolutionary relationships as inferred from the fossil record or established by genetic analysis.

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taxonomy Cultural  

1. The classification of living things. (See Linnean classification.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontaxonomically
  adverb
• taxonomical
  adjective
• taxonomic
  adjective
• taxonomist
  noun
• nontaxonomical
  adjective
• nontaxonomic
  adjective
• taxonomically
  adverb
• taxonomer
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• taxonomies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of taxonomy

First recorded in 1805–15, taxonomy is from the French word taxonomie. See taxo-, -nomy

Explanation

Taxonomy is all about organizing and classifying. To make it sound more scientific, you could refer to your project of reorganizing your spice rack according to smell as a taxonomy of spices. Taxonomy is a word used mainly in biology to talk about classifying living organisms, organizing them according to their similarities. If you've ever seen a chart with animals divided into species, genus, and family, you know what scientific taxonomy is. The word comes very straightforwardly from Greek words for "arrangement" — taxis — and "method" — nomia. So any special method for arranging or organizing things can be called taxonomy.

Example Sentences

The old taxonomy still applies: people, process and technology.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

A decided positivism—the painstaking naturalism of the pre-Darwinian life sciences, with their attention to the taxonomy, function and illustration of biological forms—made itself felt in his work habits and in his meticulous drawings.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

SEC “innovation exemptions” and a token taxonomy clarification offer future optimism for crypto, despite past headwinds.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

In “If I Go,” Thompson-Hernández scraps the three-act structure for something more novelistic, a risk that a lesser director might have fumbled but one he turns into a profound taxonomy on grace.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

But what Aristotle is attempting is a basic taxonomy of forms of argument: and like so much in his book, those forms are so familiar to us that we have long ceased to notice them.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Related Words

• allocation
• allotment
• analysis
• arrangement
• coordination
• designation
• distribution
• grade
• regulation