classified

American  

[klas-uh-fahyd] / ˈklæs əˌfaɪd /

adjective

1. arranged or distributed in classes or according to class.

   We plan to review all the classified specimens in the laboratory.

2. designating the part or parts of a publication that contain advertisements or lists arranged by category.

   The classified section of our little local newspaper is full of ads for garage sales and cleaning ladies.

3. (of information, a document, etc.)

   1. available only to authorized persons.

   2. bearing the designation classified.

4. confidential or secret.

   The firm's promotional budget for next year is classified information.

5. identified as belonging to a specific group or category, as one to which benefits or restrictions apply.

   Classified buildings are eligible for state-funded restoration. The bank has a list of classified customers to whom it will not make large loans.

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noun

1. classified ad.

classified British  

/ ˈklæsɪˌfaɪd /

adjective

1. arranged according to some system of classification

2. government (of information) not available to people outside a restricted group, esp for reasons of national security

3. (of information) closely concealed or secret

4. (of advertisements in newspapers, etc) arranged according to type

5. (of newspapers) containing sports results, esp football results

6. (of British roads) having a number in the national road system. If the number is preceded by an M the road is a motorway, if by an A it is a first-class road, and if by a B it is a secondary road

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Usage

What does classified mean? Classified means categorized or labeled in some way.Classified has several different meanings that all have to do with things being sorted in a certain way. It is commonly used to mean secret or confidential, as in that information is classified.Example: The agency keeps a list of people who have been classified as security risks.

Other Word Forms

• nonclassified adjective
• superclassified adjective
• well-classified adjective

Etymology

Origin of classified

First recorded in 1885–90; 1940–45 classified for def. 3; classify + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Reports from independent media in Russia suggested he had been photographing and sending classified information with his phone.

From Barron's

Category 5 storms are extremely rare, accounting for about one percent of events classified as "extreme," while Categories 0 and 1 are common, together making up 79 percent of storms.

From Barron's

That anonymity, he said, could allow Polymarket users to trade on classified information or have more than one account, buying and selling between them to artificially boost trading volume.

From The Wall Street Journal

Capgemini Chief Executive Aiman Ezzat last week said that he only found out about the contract recently from public sources; the U.S. division, he said, operates autonomously because of U.S. requirements to protect classified information.

From The Wall Street Journal

The law was first passed in 2019, when the United States classified the Guards as a terrorist organisation.

From Barron's

Related Words

• confidential
• restricted