assort

[uh-sawrt]

verb (used with object)

1. to distribute, place, or arrange according to kind or class; classify; sort.

2. to furnish with a suitable assortment or variety of goods; make up of articles likely to suit a demand.

3. Archaic.,  to group with others of the same or similar kind; connect or identify as of a similar class; associate (usually followed bywith ).

verb (used without object)

1. to agree in sort or kind; be matched or suited.

2. to associate; consort.

assort

/ əˈsɔːt /

verb

1. (tr) to arrange or distribute into groups of the same type; classify

2. to fit or fall into a class or group; match

3. (tr) to supply with an assortment of merchandise

4. (tr) to put in the same category as others; group

5. rare,  to keep company; consort

Other Word Forms

• assortative adjective
• assortive adjective
• assortatively adverb
• assorter noun
• reassort verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of assort¹

From the Middle French word assorter, dating back to 1480–90. See as-, sort

Word History and Origins

Origin of assort¹

C15: from Old French assorter, from sorte _sort

Example Sentences

Lee surrounds himself with a network of well-meaning people who take care of each other, interspersed with assorted ne’er-do-wells.

From Salon

Go to your local grocery store or farmer’s market and pick up three to four assorted cheeses, one or two meats, and two to three cracker varieties.

From Salon

Minor roles — assorted friends, relatives and workers — tend to be more lifelike for not having to carry the weight of the melodrama and light up the proceedings here and there.

From Los Angeles Times

Between this and the three corporate players we have yet to meet, “Alien: Earth” can go in assorted directions from here, which is an exciting thought.

From Salon

President Trump — the devil himself, to those roiling inside the hall — was derided as a “punk,” “the orange oligarch,” a small-fisted bully, the “thing that sits in the White House” and assorted unprintable epithets.

From Los Angeles Times