classify

[ klas-uh-fahy ]

/ ˈklæs əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object), clas·si·fied, clas·si·fy·ing.

to arrange or organize by classes; order according to class.

to assign a classification to (information, a document, etc.).Compare classification(def 5).

to limit the availability of (information, a document, etc.) to authorized persons.

Nearby words

classification schedule, classified, classified ad, classified advertising, classifier, classify, classis, classism, classless, classmate, classon

Origin of classify

1790–1800; < Latin classi(s) class + -fy

SYNONYMS FOR classify

1 class, rank, rate, categorize, group.

Related forms

clas·si·fi·a·ble, adjectivemis·clas·si·fy, verb (used with object), mis·clas·si·fied, mis·clas·si·fy·ing.non·clas·si·fi·a·ble, adjectiveo·ver·clas·si·fy, verb (used with object), o·ver·clas·si·fied, o·ver·clas·si·fy·ing.

pre·clas·si·fy, verb (used with object), pre·clas·si·fied, pre·clas·si·fy·ing.un·clas·si·fi·a·ble, adjectiveun·clas·si·fi·a·ble·ness, nounun·clas·si·fi·a·bly, adverbun·clas·si·fy·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for classifiable

The disappearance of Air France Flight 447 with 228 people aboard was also classifiable as a result of loss of control.
Flight 370 Didn’t Disappear: We Missed It|Clive Irving|March 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
World sense and intelligible, are they separate or classifiable together, vi.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 4|Plotinos (Plotinus)
Lore and facts about these animals are dispersed in many books not classifiable under natural history.
Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest|J. Frank Dobie
The auctioneers world is classifiable into two sections: Buyers and Sellers.
The Confessions of a Collector|William Carew Hazlitt

"Monstrous anomalies," not classifiable, and often whimsical in design.
Afloat on the Ohio|Reuben Gold Thwaites

British Dictionary definitions for classifiable

classify

/ (ˈklæsɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

to arrange or order by classes; categorize

government to declare (information, documents, etc) of possible aid to an enemy and therefore not available to people outside a restricted group

Derived Forms

classifiable, adjectiveclassifier, noun

Word Origin for classify

C18: back formation from classification

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