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

The popularity of ultra-luxe cards with ever-higher annual fees has led to a reshuffling of the market, with cards just below that tier now making up a new category for the not-quite-rich enough.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Under new rules, winners of designated prizes at six international festivals can qualify for consideration in the International Feature Film category without relying solely on their country's official submission.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

This category includes, among others, cytomegalovirus, rubella, toxoplasma and herpesvirus.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

The highly anticipated genre-busting film has already generated strong Oscar buzz, with some awards prognosticators predicting that it could squeeze into the best picture category for the first time in Academy Awards history.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

When I moved back up to Alaska, I had in a strange way fallen into the category of the ignorant tourist.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen

Sales of electric guitars costing more than $1,250 rose 14% last year in the U.S. across all retailers, according to Music Trades, while lower-priced sales categories fell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

So Warsh is looking at a particularly volatile subset of inflation categories.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Those categories include Black, Latino, Native American, Alaska Native and Pacific Islander students, according to the UC enrollment report cited in the notice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Several categories of residents will be prioritised for aid, including those with dependent children, those with disabilities, pensioners, carers, those at risk of homelessness and victims of domestic abuse.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

The MTV Movie and TV Awards become the first major acting awards to eliminate gendered categories for performance.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Related Words

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