Explanation
When you do organize something alphabetically, you arrange it in order of the letters of the alphabet. The fiction section of the library sorts books alphabetically by the author's last name. Dictionaries and encyclopedias are organized alphabetically, so that it's easy to find the word you're looking for. Some home cooks arrange their cookbook collection alphabetically by title, while others might place them on the shelf by color instead. The word alphabetically comes from alphabet, which is rooted in the first two Greek letters — arranged alphabetically, by the way — alpha and beta.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
BBC Sport has rounded up a non-exhaustive list of some of the best kit releases for 2026-27 so far, ordered alphabetically.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Ms. Lin arranged the names in death order, rather than alphabetically, making the roster a heartbreaking timeline of the war itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
This time the sectors are sorted alphabetically, with the full index at the bottom:
From MarketWatch ● May 29, 2026
Our critics’ choices overlapped twice, and in those cases their reviews follow each other on this alphabetically arranged list.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2024
I sketch them in their rows, like the years of her childhood, Acre and French Fry and Lulu and Susan and Up and all the rest, organized alphabetically.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
