classification

[ klas-uh-fi-key-shuh n ]

/ ˌklæs ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR classification ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the result of classifying or being classified.

one of the groups or classes into which things may be or have been classified.

Biology. the assignment of organisms to groups within a system of categories distinguished by structure, origin, etc. The usual series of categories is phylum (or, especially in botany, division), class, order, family, genus, species, and variety.

the category, as restricted, confidential, secret, or top secret, to which information, a document, etc., is assigned, as by a government or military agency, based on the degree of protection considered necessary to safeguard it from unauthorized use.

Library Science. any of various systems for arranging books and other materials, especially according to subject or format.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of classification

1780–90; < Latin classi(s) class + -fication

Related forms

clas·si·fi·ca·to·ry

[kluh-sif-i-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, klas-uh-fi- or, esp. British, klas-uh-fi-key-tuh-ree] /kləˈsɪf ɪ kəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, ˈklæs ə fɪ- or, esp. British, ˌklæs ə fɪˈkeɪ tə ri/, adjectivecla·si·fi·ca·to·ri·ly, adverbclas·si·fi·ca·tion·al, adjectivemis·clas·si·fi·ca·tion, noun

non·clas·si·fi·ca·tion, nouno·ver·clas·si·fi·ca·tion, nounpre·clas·si·fi·ca·tion, noun

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

Examples from the Web for classificatory

To give a long-winded Latin classificatory name, forsooth, to a thing that would destroy the faith of ages!
The Beckoning Hand and Other Stories|Grant Allen
Mr. McLennan was in error in maintaining that the classificatory system concerned terms of address alone.
Social Origins and Primal Law|Andrew Lang
Giri is a classificatory distinction of one of the ten ancient Swami branches.
Autobiography of a YOGI|Paramhansa Yogananda
Till now I have been dealing with relatively small variations of the classificatory system.
Kinship and Social Organisation|W. H. R. Rivers

I propose now to deal with classificatory terminology from this point of view.
Kinship and Social Organisation|W. H. R. Rivers

British Dictionary definitions for classificatory

classification

/ (ˌklæsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /

noun

systematic placement in categories

one of the divisions in a system of classifying

biology

the placing of animals and plants in a series of increasingly specialized groups because of similarities in structure, origin, molecular composition, etc, that indicate a common relationship. The major groups are domain or superkingdom, kingdom, phylum (in animals) or division (in plants), class, order, family, genus, and species
the study of the principles and practice of this process; taxonomy

government the designation of an item of information as being secret and not available to people outside a restricted group

Derived Formsclassificational, adjectiveclassificatory, adjective

Word Origin for classification

C18: from French; see class, -ify, -ation

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

Word Origin and History for classificatory (1 of 2)

classificatory

adj.

1825, from Latin stem of classify + -ory.

Word Origin and History for classificatory (1 of 2)

classification

1772, "action of classifying," noun of action from Latin stem of classify, or from French classification. Meaning "result of classifying" is from 1789.

Medicine definitions for classificatory

classification

[ klăs′ə-fĭ-kā′shən ]

n.

A systematic arrangement into classes or groups.

The systematic grouping of organisms into categories on the basis of evolutionary or structural relationships between them; taxonomy.

Science definitions for classificatory

classification

[ klăs′ə-fĭ-kā′shən ]

The systematic grouping of organisms according to the structural or evolutionary relationships among them. Organisms are normally classified by observed similarities in their body and cell structure or by evolutionary relationships based on the analysis of sequences of their DNA. See more at cladistics Linnean. See Table at taxonomy.