categorize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to arrange in categories or classes; classify.
-
to describe by labeling or giving a name to; characterize.
verb
Other Word Forms
- categorist noun
- categorization noun
- decategorization noun
- decategorize verb (used with object)
- miscategorize verb (used with object)
- miscategorized adjectivemiscategorized, miscategorizing
- recategorize verb (used with object)
- subcategorization noun
- uncategorized adjective
Etymology
Origin of categorize
First recorded in 1695–1705; categor(y) + -ize
Explanation
If you decided to categorize your wardrobe, you could sort it by type (pants or shirts), or by color. To categorize is to put something into a category. When you think of categorizing things, imagine taking a pile of marbles and putting them into little boxes by color. You are sorting things by how they are alike. Scientists categorize animals and plants by their properties. Doctors categorize illnesses by whether they are caused by viruses or bacteria. In movies, high school students are often categorized as jocks, popular kids, troublemakers, and geeks.
Vocabulary lists containing categorize
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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Content Summary G.2: Regionalization
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Content Summary 5.1: Causes of the Atlantic Revolutions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“To categorize this almost like a self-driving car is inaccurate,” Thorrington said.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
Apps like Rocket Money can link bank accounts, categorize spending habits and flag unused subscriptions.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
This administration is not the first to use AI; federal agencies have been gradually stitching the technology into their work for years, including to translate documents, analyze data and categorize public comments, among other uses.
From Salon • Feb. 2, 2026
They hired “undergraduate and graduate research assistants” to read and categorize High Court opinions in divided cases since 1953.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
Examples of different ways children can categorize instruments.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
