catalog
Americannoun
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catalogs
plural
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a list or record, as of items for sale or courses at a university, systematically arranged and often including descriptive material.
a stamp catalog.
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something that contains such a list or record, as a book, leaflet, or file.
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a list of the contents of a library or a group of libraries, arranged according to any of various systems.
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any list or record.
a catalog of complaints.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to produce a catalog.
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to have a specified price as listed in a catalog.
This model catalogs for $49.95.
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to offer merchandise in a mail-order catalog.
adjective
Usage
What does catalog mean? A catalog is a list or record of items. It is sometimes spelled catalogue. It commonly refers to a list of things being offered, such as items for sale or courses at a school. The point of such a catalog is typically to arrange the information in an orderly way—often with descriptions—so that the items can be easily found. The word often refers to a printed copy of the list, especially in the context of items available for purchase from a particular company. Catalog can also be used to refer to a collection of works, such as by a particular artist, as in I love every album in her catalog. A card catalog is a file containing information about the books and other materials held in a library. Card catalogs were once commonly physical cabinets of drawers containing cards but now often exist as online catalogs. Sometimes, catalog is used in a very general way as another way of saying list, as in a catalog of complaints. Catalog can also be used as a verb meaning to record items with a list, as in Please catalog all of the new titles. Example: The course catalog lists all of the classes that are available to take.
Synonym Usage
See list 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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catalogernoun
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catalogistnoun
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cataloguernoun
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cataloguistnoun
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miscatalogverb (used with object)
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miscatalogueverb (used with object)
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recatalogverb (used with object)
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catalogicadjective
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catalogicaladjective
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catalogisticadjective
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noncatalogadjective
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noncatalogueadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of catalog
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English cataloge, from Late Latin catalogus, from Greek katálogos “a register” (akin to katalégein “to count up”), equivalent to kata- “down, against, back” + -logos reckoning; see cata-
Explanation
A catalog is a book that lists many things: the most common type of catalog is for a store. A catalog is an organized list that appears in book or pamphlet form. The Sears catalog tells you all the things you can buy at Sears, along with pictures of the items and what they cost. But you can also use catalog to mean any kind of listing. In an argument, you might say, "Why don't you just make a catalog of all my faults!" When you're making a catalog of any kind, you're cataloging.
Vocabulary lists containing catalog
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Put It This Way: Synonyms for "Describe"
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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.
See Examples For:
The brand-new Vera C. Rubin Observatory is supposed to complete a groundbreaking “survey” of the universe, the most comprehensive catalog of its galaxies, asteroids, supernovas and black holes ever completed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
“Having a big emotional range is important to me — being able to weave in and out of music that feels sarcastic and fun, and then getting really deep,” Nigro said of Devon Again’s catalog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
How could the owners of this catalog, of all people, object to well-funded operations cranking out simulations?
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
"The Elvis Plaintiffs' iconic collective catalog contains some of the most groundbreaking, revolutionary, influential, and enduring musical compositions in human history," the case states.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
I was in the outhouse, flipping through the Sears, Roebuck catalog.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
He catalogs these versions of the story with cheeky humor, in a tone that doesn’t line up with his oft-asserted love of all things spooky.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Streaming services may offer 50,000-song catalogs, but HiHo’s 12,000-plus book is curated by its hosts and clientele.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
“Retailers that successfully provide product catalogs, inventory feeds, merchant data, store information, reviews and other structured content to AI agents may gain a significant advantage,” the analysts said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Beyond pricing assistance, AI agents also search catalogs of products, build shopping carts and complete purchases on Shopify stores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Sierra busied herself clearing the table of María’s loose paperwork and some ad catalogs.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
In Sierra Vista, Ann Nichols, 72 and a Democratic-leaning independent, could scarcely get the words out fast enough as she cataloged her outrage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
The fossil, cataloged as MGB-512, is about 50 centimeters long and is housed at the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
The cataloged facts of her age, place of birth, and marital status suggest the breadth of a life he does not know, and he is seized with the curiosity to find her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The cataloged fragments were held on the concrete floor of Hangar 17 at John F. Kennedy Airport, and the authors describe the tense atmosphere inside the cavernous space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
But in the heart of this chaos, Tyler had half a decade’s pencil shavings, cataloged by year.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Astronomers have spent decades carefully cataloging stars near the Sun, yet white dwarfs in systems like these remain difficult to detect.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
His repeated attempts to flex expensive restaurant bills and hardman tough talk land like a waterlogged handkerchief after he’s spent song after song cataloging all the specific ways we’ve all hurt his feelings.
From Salon ● May 21, 2026
The surge of immigration detention flights at Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport spurred plane spotter Nick Benson to shift from tracking rare and unusual aircraft to cataloging the removal of detainees from Minnesota.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
Similarly, the complex evolution in cataloging and classification practices are more introduced than explained, making it difficult to fully appreciate their significance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
Slowly I head for home, counting the lines and cataloging all the loud sounds my earmuffs don’t really muffle: cab honks, bus brakes, slammed doors.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
Marshall in 2024, catalogued the system’s due process pathologies and all but invited a broader challenge.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
Three hundred years later, Gray’s Anatomy by Henry Gray reinforced the impression that the body had finally been catalogued, indexed and neatly organized – a system mapped and fully explained.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026
Sloth jaws and sabertooth fangs and a truly astonishing amount of ancient vertebrae — all of it will be swaddled, catalogued and crated for the next two years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
"Winnie the Pooh is all of us," said Kevin Kern, senior manager of research at the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, California, where all kinds of Pooh paraphernalia are neatly catalogued.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
The Legendary Alston Boys’ maneuvers always came from learning something new while on an adventure, something that Otto catalogued for later.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
The document was uncovered by a volunteer in February while cataloguing the papers of Royal Navy captains from the American Revolutionary War.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Buyers and sellers are seeing the biggest differences compared with last year in West Palm Beach, which saw a near-40% increase in pending sales, Redfin data cataloguing the nation’s largest metropolitan areas show.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
“The cataloguing and photographing of the notebook was a valid part of the inventory search,” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
A graduate program in archival science at Pratt helped him gather focus, while turning him on to the infinite history of sound data and cataloguing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
Matt had flunked out of high school but had an impressive mind when it came to cataloguing Dead trivia.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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