category

[kat-i-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee]

noun

plural

categories 

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of category¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of category¹

C15: from Late Latin catēgoria, from Greek katēgoria, from kategorein to accuse, assert

Example Sentences

Supercapacitors are a developing category of energy storage devices that rely on electrostatic charge storage instead of the chemical reactions used in batteries.

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They are part of a broader category of U.S.-listed equity ETFs that offer downside protection on stock indexes.

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And though nods in the big three mainstream categories didn’t materialize, that wasn’t a total surprise for an LP so meticulous about playing with classic Latin genres.

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Yet “most expenses related to housing are fixed or nonnegotiable, including mortgage payments, water & sewer charges, insurance, fuel, and electricity, leaving maintenance as the largest single category of discretionary operating costs.”

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The little red dots did not align with any familiar category, so astronomers began considering more extreme explanations.

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Related Words

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