classify

[klas-uh-fahy]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR classify ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of classify

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

Related formsclas·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

Synonyms for classify

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR classify ON THESAURUS.COM

1. class, rank, rate, categorize, group.

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

Related Words for classify

organize, divide, distribute, label, segregate, allocate, analyze, arrange, incorporate, alphabetize, grade, number, rank, rate, regiment, collocate, file, tabulate, size, index

Examples from the Web for classify

Contemporary Examples of classify

While some may classify that inactivity as laziness or indifference, Brown suggests the contrary.
Deepwater Horizon: Life Drowning in Oil
Samuel Fragoso
November 2, 2014
The end goal is to classify what happens when the memory goes awry.
DARPA’s $40 Million Plan to Save Soldiers’ Brains
Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Michael Zhang
July 15, 2014
There is a debate among experts about how to classify and define the effects of a lithium-ion battery meltdown.
Flight 370 Was Carrying 440 Pounds of Dangerous Batteries
Clive Irving
May 1, 2014
The bill has even grants no longer existent agencies the power to classify secrets.
Japan’s new Secrets Bill Threatens To Muzzle The Press and Whistleblowers
Jake Adelstein, Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky
November 29, 2013
In short, the Greens are asking the court to classify for-profit corporations as having religious consciences.
Is Forced Religious Belief Coming to an Employer Near You?
Jamelle Bouie
November 27, 2013

Historical Examples of classify

She was moved by some emotion, but he was unable, for the moment, to classify it.
The Avenger
E. Phillips Oppenheim
"Oh, if you like, I will classify all our acquaintances for you," replied Claude.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola
Then he went back to the press to classify this new document in it.
Doctor Pascal
Emile Zola
How, while mankind were disputing about universals, could they classify phenomena?
Parmenides
Plato
It remains to combine and classify the materials thus verified.
Introduction to the Study of History
Charles V. Langlois

British Dictionary definitions for classify

classify

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 Formsclassifiable, 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

Word Origin and History for classify

1782, from French classifier, from classe (see class (n.)) + -fier (see -fy). Related: Classified; classifying.