assort
Americanverb (used with object)
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assorts,
present (3rd person singular)
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assorted,
past participle, past
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assorting
present participle
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to distribute, place, or arrange according to kind or class; classify; sort.
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to furnish with a suitable assortment or variety of goods; make up of articles likely to suit a demand.
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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)
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assorts,
present (3rd person singular)
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assorted,
past participle, past
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assorting
present participle
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to agree in sort or kind; be matched or suited.
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to associate; consort.
verb
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(tr) to arrange or distribute into groups of the same type; classify
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to fit or fall into a class or group; match
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(tr) to supply with an assortment of merchandise
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(tr) to put in the same category as others; group
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rare to keep company; consort
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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assortsimple
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assortssimple
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have assortedperfect
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has assortedperfect
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am assortingprogressive
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are assortingprogressive
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is assortingprogressive
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have been assortingperfect progressive
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has been assortingperfect progressive
Past
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assortedsimple
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had assortedperfect
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was assortingprogressive
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were assortingprogressive
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had been assortingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of assort
From the Middle French word assorter, dating back to 1480–90. See as-, sort
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:
If genes are far apart and more likely to cross-over, then they are more likely to assort independently.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2018
We could try to assort that bunch top-to-bottom, from the front of the train to the caboose.
From Forbes ● Jul. 14, 2015
This occurs because chromosomes, on which the genes reside, assort independently during meiosis and crossovers cause most genes on the same chromosomes to also behave independently.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
Many species, including primates and wolves, assort themselves by means of a dominance hierarchy.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 19, 2011
Obviously the artist may assort any two or more of these varieties in the same picture.
From Art Principles With Special Reference to Painting Together with Notes on the Illusions Produced by the Painter by Ernest Govett
The values along each forked pathway can be multiplied because each gene assorts independently.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
She smiles, yet in a somewhat constrained fashion, that assorts ill with the inborn self-possession that as a rule characterizes her.
From Rossmoyne by Unknown
This introduction of white smooth stone, assorts ill with the dull reddish-brown mass all around it, and produces a glaring and disagreeable effect.
From Architectural Antiquities of Normandy by John Sell Cotman
To be a "politic," clever fellow, a vast deal more humoring of prejudices, errors, and follies, is requisite, than at all assorts with true honesty of character.
From The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 4, April, 1852 by Various
And here lies the weakness of the epicurean and artistic attitude, that it assorts so ill with the harder and grimmer facts of life.
From At Large by Arthur Christopher Benson
Inside were my elementary school report cards, two programs from concerts I played as a percussionist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and other assorted evidence of a childhood.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Each of the five models is offered in assorted colors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Clover’s long, tasseled ears collect leaves, grass, and assorted debris on walks, and she scratches them out semiregularly.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
He was earning what for the mid-Victorian era counted as a small fortune, but no fewer than four households of assorted relatives relied on his largesse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
I took a seat at my desk and surveyed the landscape—a small village of nail polish bottles, colored pencils, a rubber finger-puppet beast, and a hill of assorted notepads.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Note that we are assuming the interacting genes are not linked; they are still assorting independently into gametes.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Mr Baker seems to be randomly assorting clips for a montage, and the characters feel so real and idiosyncratic that it’s riveting even without a clear sense of plot or direction.
From Economist ● Sep. 13, 2017
The same is true of Comic-Con’s purpose for the publishers, studios and assorting celebrities and creators who are involved.
From Time ● Sep. 5, 2012
Even without the new additions, Yale custodians had years of editing and assorting ahead of them.
From Time Magazine Archive
We landed at Quebec, and maintained ourselves for some time—I acting as a kind of shore-porter, and my wife assisting in assorting furs in a great warehouse.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Vol. 9 by Various
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.
