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

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• 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

See Examples For:

taxonomy taxonomies

This is also where marinated beans diverge from bean salad, at least in my personal taxonomy.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

The SEC also released a token taxonomy in March clarifying that it didn’t believe most crypto transactions fell under its jurisdiction.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

Zhang began exploring the idea several years ago after noticing that many taxonomy studies were uncovering genetically distinct species that were visually indistinguishable.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 3, 2026

All I had to do was provide the illustrations, and I could draw as well as Fred could explain taxonomy.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

“The Murder Game” proliferates taxonomies of its own, which often overlap and can become repetitive, especially when the same material is repeated across different chapters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

Classical music doesn’t conform to the straightforward artist/album/song taxonomies of most streaming services.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2023

Wayne T. Carr, wearing a lumpy costume by designer Dana Rebecca Woods that slips past existing taxonomies, doesn’t play down the character’s sinister machinations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2023

However, this is only likely to happen in stages from 2023 given there are no global taxonomies or rules on what constitute sustainable investments.

From Reuters ● Dec. 20, 2022

There are also broader metaverse-related taxonomies like one from game designer Raph Koster, who draws a distinction between “online worlds,” “multiverses,” and “metaverses.”

From The Verge ● Oct. 4, 2021

Related Words

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