classified
Americanadjective
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arranged or distributed in classes or according to class.
We plan to review all the classified specimens in the laboratory.
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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.
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(of information, a document, etc.)
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available only to authorized persons.
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bearing the designation classified.
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confidential or secret.
The firm's promotional budget for next year is classified information.
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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.
noun
adjective
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arranged according to some system of classification
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government (of information) not available to people outside a restricted group, esp for reasons of national security
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(of information) closely concealed or secret
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(of advertisements in newspapers, etc) arranged according to type
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(of newspapers) containing sports results, esp football results
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(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
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of classified
First recorded in 1885–90; 1940–45 classified for def. 3; classify + -ed 2
Explanation
Classified things are organized into categories. For example, classified ads in newspapers are arranged by type, with job listings in one section and apartments for rent in another. Classified documents, on the other hand, are for your eyes only. That is, if you have security clearance. When you classify things, you arrange or sort them into groups, or classes — once this is done, they are classified. Your science book might include sections on animals, classified by species. Sometimes information is categorized as "top-secret," which is another meaning of classified: "I can't show you the classified documents. Only members of the city council can see those."
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.
See Examples For:
Across Europe, five species of glow worm are threatened with extinction, while the common glow worm is classified as near threatened.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Operational sound, such as those from an attraction, are classified differently than “impulsive noise,” such as a gunshot from a film production.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Some clinics call it the “wolverine compound” because of its healing properties, though New Zealand has recommended that BPC-157 is classified as a prescription drug.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
More than 10,000 short-chain and long-chain industrial chemicals are classified as PFAS.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
He was also receiving daily written intelligence briefings, suddenly privy to the nation’s heavier secrets—the classified threats, quiet alliances, and covert operations about which the public remained largely unaware.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
I even scoured the real estate section of the classifieds for potential store-fronts, convinced I just had to find the listings other people overlooked.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2025
Reyes found the phone number advertised on Backpages, a classifieds website later shut down by law enforcement.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2023
For the uninitiated: Facebook Marketplace is a virtual yard sale, like Craigslist or the classifieds.
From Slate ● Dec. 15, 2022
By 2018, revenue from classifieds was just $2.2 billion.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2022
Royal placed the coded messages in the classifieds that informed runaways and conductors of departures.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
