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.

---

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

---

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 first identifies an overlooked category of plant proteins that works with fiber to influence bacterial activity, potentially helping shift the balance away from harmful metabolic products.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026

“It’s just the category is under some pressure relative to switching out of cream cheese into cottage cheese and others. And that’s very addressable, but it’s going to take just a little bit of time.”

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2026

It’s the latest eye-popping product in a growing category of functional snacks and treats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Harry Kane falls right into the same category.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

“All right, you Maniac Magees, here is your picture puzzle. The category is Famous Quotes. You have sixty seconds to solve this rebus.”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Obviously there’s plenty more that will need to happen over the medium term, and I would put those things in four categories.

From Slate ● Nov. 9, 2026

“Furniture is one of the categories worth watching during the holiday sales season, as retailers typically offer promotions on big-ticket home purchases, including sofas, sectionals and living room furniture,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026

But where did the idea of these five neat categories come from?

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

Planned as a two-part spectacle, the creators believe it heralds a breakout moment globally for India's film industry, which has yet to win an Oscar in the coveted film categories.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

Asked to describe and classify mammals, he scribbled down an incomplete and absurd system of taxonomy—omitting categories, inventing others, lumping kangaroos with beavers, and pigs with elephants.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---