categorize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to arrange in categories or classes; classify.
-
to describe by labeling or giving a name to; characterize.
verb
Other Word Forms
- categorist noun
- categorization noun
- decategorization noun
- decategorize verb (used with object)
- miscategorize verb (used with object)
- miscategorized adjectivemiscategorized, miscategorizing
- recategorize verb (used with object)
- subcategorization noun
- uncategorized adjective
Etymology
Origin of categorize
First recorded in 1695–1705; categor(y) + -ize
Explanation
If you decided to categorize your wardrobe, you could sort it by type (pants or shirts), or by color. To categorize is to put something into a category. When you think of categorizing things, imagine taking a pile of marbles and putting them into little boxes by color. You are sorting things by how they are alike. Scientists categorize animals and plants by their properties. Doctors categorize illnesses by whether they are caused by viruses or bacteria. In movies, high school students are often categorized as jocks, popular kids, troublemakers, and geeks.
Vocabulary lists containing categorize
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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Content Summary G.2: Regionalization
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Content Summary 5.1: Causes of the Atlantic Revolutions
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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.
There’s been little new science on the 19 peptides since the FDA’s 2023 decision to categorize them as unsafe.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Central bank watchers like to categorize board members as hawks or doves.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
The film’s title translates to “national treasure,” another clichéd term thrown around when trying to categorize greatness.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026
AI has enhanced the process by being able to recognize different types of documents and fonts, and by learning how to classify or categorize the data so it can enter it into a tax return.
From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026
There was gray in his hair, though he was not old; three syllables, she thought, trying to categorize him in some way that would perhaps explain his presence.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
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.
