category

American  

[kat-i-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee] / ˈkæt ɪˌgɔr i, -ˌgoʊr i /

noun

• categories
  plural

1. 

   any general or comprehensive division; a class.

   Synonyms:

   type, grouping, group

2. a classificatory division in any field of knowledge, as a phylum or any of its subdivisions in biology.

3. Metaphysics.

   1. (in Aristotelian philosophy) any of the fundamental modes of existence, such as substance, quality, and quantity, as determined by analysis of the different possible kinds of predication.

   2. (in Kantian philosophy) any of the fundamental principles of the understanding, as the principle of causation.

   3. any classification of terms that is ultimate and not susceptible to further analysis.

4. Also called Guggenheim. (used with a singular verb) categories. a game in which a key word and a list of categories, as dogs, automobiles, or rivers, are selected, and in which each player writes down a word in each category that begins with each of the letters of the key word, the player writing down the most words within a time limit being declared the winner.

5. Mathematics. a type of mathematical object, as a set, group, or metric space, together with a set of mappings from such an object to other objects of the same type.

6. Grammar. part of speech.

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category British  

/ ˈkætɪɡərɪ /

noun

1. a class or group of things, people, etc, possessing some quality or qualities in common; a division in a system of classification

2. metaphysics any one of the most basic classes into which objects and concepts can be analysed

3. 1. (in the philosophy of Aristotle) any one of ten most fundamental modes of being, such as quantity, quality, and substance

   2. (in the philosophy of Kant) one of twelve concepts required by human beings to interpret the empirical world

   3. any set of objects, concepts, or expressions distinguished from others within some logical or linguistic theory by the intelligibility of a specific set of statements concerning them See also category mistake

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• categories
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of category

First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin catēgoria, from Greek katēgoría “accusation” (in logic, “predication”), from katēgoreîn “to accuse, affirm,” from kata- cata- + agoreúein “to speak before the agora ¹ ” + -ia -y ³

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Explanation

A category is a group of things that share some commonality. Think of the game show "Jeopardy!," and how each column is a different category of questions — like "Literary Characters" or "Potent Potables." The noun category has the sense of ordering or sorting. In Biology, the science of taxonomy is all about categorizing all living organisms. It might be an easier task to categorize books in a library according to genre (e.g., fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, etc.) or to categorize the shoes in your closet according to season.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

category categories

Craig was nominated for the category last month, Daly said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

In the first global assessment of its kind, the world authority on threatened wildlife classified 96 percent of the planet's coral reef systems as "critically endangered" -- its highest risk category.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

That category extends beyond generative AI, so the percentage should not be mistaken for a precise measure of AI exposure.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

Foods placed in the same broad category can have very different associations with cancer risk.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

“All right, you Maniac Magees, here is your picture puzzle. The category is Famous Quotes. You have sixty seconds to solve this rebus.”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

However, a closer examination of individual food categories revealed a much more complicated picture.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

AT&T pointed to a boost from growth in retail wireless subscribers in underpenetrated categories and converged accounts, as well as higher prices that were partially offset by discounts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

When he was bored during the pandemic, Yankovic made it his mission to find the city’s best culinary offerings for categories like doughnuts and chocolate chip cookies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Some newer categories, such as live sports, have been more successful than others, such as videogames.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

This summer, for example, pants may be capri, classic, carpenter, clam-digger, boot, or flood, depending on their length and cut, and I’m probably leaving a few categories out.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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Related Words

• class
• division
• grade
• group
• kind
• league
• level
• list
• rank
• section
• tier

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