alphabetize
Americanverb (used with object)
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alphabetizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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alphabetized,
past participle, past
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alphabetizing
present participle
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to put or arrange in alphabetical order.
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to express by or furnish with an alphabet.
verb
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to arrange in conventional alphabetical order
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to express by an alphabet
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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alphabetizationnoun
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alphabetizernoun
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misalphabetizeverb (used with object)
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unalphabetizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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alphabetizesimple
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alphabetizessimple
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have alphabetizedperfect
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has alphabetizedperfect
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am alphabetizingprogressive
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are alphabetizingprogressive
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is alphabetizingprogressive
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have been alphabetizingperfect progressive
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has been alphabetizingperfect progressive
Past
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alphabetizedsimple
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had alphabetizedperfect
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was alphabetizingprogressive
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were alphabetizingprogressive
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had been alphabetizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of alphabetize
Explanation
To alphabetize is to arrange something in order of the letters of the alphabet. You might alphabetize your spices on the rack in you kitchen, with allspice first and za'atar last. Part of a librarian's job is to alphabetize books, both on the shelf and in a computer database. If you put together a directory of club members, you might alphabetize their names, and if you've ever looked up a number in a phone book, you're probably glad the printer alphabetized the listings. Alphabetize comes from alphabet, which is rooted in the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: alpha and beta.
Vocabulary lists containing alphabetize
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:
And instead of organizing the case from top to bottom, I alphabetize each individual shelf so that when it’s time to add a book, I don’t have to shift the entire system.
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2022
It’s going to be a long list, so you can click on the “Process Name” heading to alphabetize the list for an easier find.
From The Verge ● Jul. 6, 2021
It’ll be a perfect opportunity to finally dust above your curtain rods or alphabetize those book shelves.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2018
They tinkered with computers, programming them to alphabetize their homework.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 1, 2016
To arrange alphabetically; as, to alphabetize a list of words.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster
My wife then divides hers into region and alphabetizes them by last name of author, but I am too lazy.
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2020
There’s one that can help me when I dine out and another that alphabetizes my favorite recipes, like an ingredients-only weight loss cookbook.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2016
This, in his view, had multiple advantages, which he alphabetizes as Affiliation, Bonding, Categorization, Discernment, Employment, Freedom and God.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sister Rose is so organized that she alphabetizes her kitchen so that the allspice would be stored next to the ant poison.
From Time Magazine Archive
A local mortuary working with the county took possession of the other four bodies and the cremated remains and has since sorted and alphabetized the cremated remains.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
Then we have a second list that is every single member of Congress, alphabetized by last name.
From Slate ● Jan. 5, 2023
Her spices were alphabetized, her cutlery all had to face the same direction in the drawer and her chocolate chip cookies were somehow all identical.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2022
“I suffer from CDO. That’s OCD, but the letters are alphabetized like they need to be.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2022
She took down Babi’s books, dusted and alphabetized them.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
Often, the instinct is to just begin: grab a garbage bag, empty the freezer, start wiping baseboards, briefly consider alphabetizing your spices.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026
In fact, I’m buying and alphabetizing compact discs again.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2018
Marshall said he is in the process of alphabetizing the others, as well as attaching information on the wrench and the company it came from.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 19, 2017
Music Library: Epiphany’s music director would appreciate a volunteer to help with organizing the music library, including alphabetizing, rearranging shelves, labeling boxes, and updating the music library spreadsheet.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 10, 2017
I can’t put everything back together or I’ll find myself alphabetizing all the books and taping the map back together.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
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.
