category

American  

[kat-i-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee] / ˈkæt ɪˌgɔr i, -ˌgoʊr i /

noun

• categories
  plural

1. any general or comprehensive division; a class.

   Synonyms:

   type, grouping, group

2. a classificatory division in any field of knowledge, as a phylum or any of its subdivisions in biology.

3. Metaphysics.

   1. (in Aristotelian philosophy) any of the fundamental modes of existence, such as substance, quality, and quantity, as determined by analysis of the different possible kinds of predication.

   2. (in Kantian philosophy) any of the fundamental principles of the understanding, as the principle of causation.

   3. any classification of terms that is ultimate and not susceptible to further analysis.

4. Also called Guggenheim.  (used with a singular verb) categories. a game in which a key word and a list of categories, as dogs, automobiles, or rivers, are selected, and in which each player writes down a word in each category that begins with each of the letters of the key word, the player writing down the most words within a time limit being declared the winner.

5. Mathematics. a type of mathematical object, as a set, group, or metric space, together with a set of mappings from such an object to other objects of the same type.

6. Grammar. part of speech.

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category British  

/ ˈkætɪɡərɪ /

noun

1. a class or group of things, people, etc, possessing some quality or qualities in common; a division in a system of classification

2. metaphysics any one of the most basic classes into which objects and concepts can be analysed

3. 1. (in the philosophy of Aristotle) any one of ten most fundamental modes of being, such as quantity, quality, and substance

   2. (in the philosophy of Kant) one of twelve concepts required by human beings to interpret the empirical world

   3. any set of objects, concepts, or expressions distinguished from others within some logical or linguistic theory by the intelligibility of a specific set of statements concerning them See also category mistake

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• categories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of category

First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin catēgoria, from Greek katēgoría “accusation” (in logic, “predication”), from katēgoreîn “to accuse, affirm,” from kata- cata- + agoreúein “to speak before the agora ¹ ” + -ia -y ³

Explanation

A category is a group of things that share some commonality. Think of the game show "Jeopardy!," and how each column is a different category of questions — like "Literary Characters" or "Potent Potables." The noun category has the sense of ordering or sorting. In Biology, the science of taxonomy is all about categorizing all living organisms. It might be an easier task to categorize books in a library according to genre (e.g., fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, etc.) or to categorize the shoes in your closet according to season.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

category categories

Since Starbucks first introduced the drink category in 2012, they’ve quickly metastasized across menus, becoming the popular secret third thing for those who aren’t into the taste or price tag of coffee or matcha.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

With penalties too, it is clear to see why he is dominating the budget forward category.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

To blend all these prices into the index, the BLS must determine how much weight each category should get.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Fund and ETF screener FundXLS puts 165 ETFs and nearly 600 open-end mutual funds in its midcap category.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

JB tried to warn Jonah went into the know category, but they all agreed that the phones are tapped only qualified for What we think.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Lower-priced categories, which sell in higher volumes, have performed poorly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

But it’s causing a stir in Hollywood because we’re losing some mainstays of the show, and that’s writing for a variety series, but also taking a big hit is the limited series or movie categories.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Core inflation, excluding the volatile food and energy categories, is “well above target, but not a level that needs urgent adjustment, in our view,” said strategists at brokerage Standard Chartered, in a note to clients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The categories haven’t changed much over the years, but the average yearly cost of attendance has nearly doubled along with the advertised sticker prices.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

But that year was also the year that kids in his grade had started shifting into separate categories, some willingly and others not so willingly.

From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Related Words

• class
• division
• grade
• group
• kind
• league
• level
• list
• rank
• section
• tier