catalogue
Britishnoun
-
a complete, usually alphabetical list of items, often with notes giving details
-
a book, usually illustrated, containing details of items for sale, esp as used by mail-order companies
-
a list of all the books or resources of a library
-
a publication issued by a university, college, etc, listing courses offered, regulations, services, etc
-
a list of wool lots prepared for auction
verb
-
to compile a catalogue of (a library)
-
to add (books, items, etc) to an existing catalogue
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of catalogue
C15: from Late Latin catalogus, from Greek katalogos, from katalegein to list, from kata- completely + legein to collect
Explanation
A catalogue is a list of things. Those glossy booklets from your favorite clothing shops that fill your mailbox are catalogues, and so is that online list you consult to find a book at the library. A catalogue — also spelled catalog — can be a list of anything, arranged in some order, and when you list things, you catalogue them. If you're particularly peeved at your brother, you might catalogue for him every annoying thing he's done lately. If you've ever worked in a library, you may have been assigned to catalogue new books, or, at your office, you might catalogue all the printers, listing the make and model of each one.
Vocabulary lists containing catalogue
Break It Down: Cata
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Latin Love, Vol II: cadere
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Churchill's "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat" speech (1940)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
It is a contrast to the chaotic construction of Berlin's international airport -- a catalogue of problems meant it took 14 years to build the site, which finally opened in 2020.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
While "Gugusse and the Automaton" was known to be in Melies' back catalogue, no one had seen it until McFarland delivered it to the library in his Toyota sedan last September.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
By combining their bacterial catalogue with existing clinical datasets, the team built a model that can identify colorectal cancer using only stool samples.
From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026
Each item appeared in a catalogue "so that families could go through and identify the items that they wanted to claim", he said.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
I went back to flipping through the catalogue.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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.
