categorize

American

[kat-i-guh-rahyz] / ˈkæt ɪ gəˌraɪz /

especially British, categorise

verb (used with object)

categorized, categorizing

to arrange in categories or classes; classify.
to describe by labeling or giving a name to; characterize.

categorize British

/ ˈkætɪɡəˌraɪz /

verb

(tr) to place in a category; classify

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

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

McAlpine acknowledges that her film has been difficult to categorize.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

AI pattern-recognition technology makes jobs easy to categorize, finally offering a chance to create a data-driven labor market with standards for the components of each job.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 13, 2026

They hired “undergraduate and graduate research assistants” to read and categorize High Court opinions in divided cases since 1953.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

The comment was so like Bobby in that he tended to remember and categorize people through their chess games, not necessarily anything else.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023