taxonomy

American  

[tak-son-uh-mee] / tækˈsɒn ə mi /

noun

• taxonomies
  plural

1. the science or technique of classification.

2. a classification into ordered categories.

   a proposed taxonomy of educational objectives.

3. Biology. the science dealing with the description, identification, naming, and classification of organisms.

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taxonomy British  

/ tækˈsɒnəmɪ /

noun

1. 1. the branch of biology concerned with the classification of organisms into groups based on similarities of structure, origin, etc

   2. the practice of arranging organisms in this way

2. the science or practice of classification

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taxonomy Scientific  

/ tăk-sŏn′ə-mē /

1. The scientific classification of organisms into specially named groups based either on shared characteristics or on evolutionary relationships as inferred from the fossil record or established by genetic analysis.

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taxonomy Cultural  

1. The classification of living things. (See Linnean classification.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• taxonomer
  noun
• taxonomist
  noun
• nontaxonomic
  adjective
• nontaxonomical
  adjective
• taxonomic
  adjective
• taxonomical
  adjective
• nontaxonomically
  adverb
• taxonomically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• taxonomies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of taxonomy

First recorded in 1805–15, taxonomy is from the French word taxonomie. See taxo-, -nomy

Explanation

Taxonomy is all about organizing and classifying. To make it sound more scientific, you could refer to your project of reorganizing your spice rack according to smell as a taxonomy of spices. Taxonomy is a word used mainly in biology to talk about classifying living organisms, organizing them according to their similarities. If you've ever seen a chart with animals divided into species, genus, and family, you know what scientific taxonomy is. The word comes very straightforwardly from Greek words for "arrangement" — taxis — and "method" — nomia. So any special method for arranging or organizing things can be called taxonomy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

taxonomy taxonomies

Modern taxonomy, the science of naming and classifying organisms, increasingly attempts to reflect actual evolutionary relationships by grouping species according to shared ancestry.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

Agreed, but the four-door, fast-backed Model Y is not an SUV, except in Tesla’s own taxonomy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

This is also where marinated beans diverge from bean salad, at least in my personal taxonomy.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026

The old taxonomy still applies: people, process and technology.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

He lists 121 figures, and divides them according to a taxonomy that’s highly serviceable today:* grouping them according to the type of thing they did.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

How much room a country occupies in the index changes over time, depending on the strength of its economy and companies, said Raman Aylur Subramanian, head of market classification taxonomies at MSCI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

However, this is only likely to happen in stages from 2023 given there are no global taxonomies or rules on what constitute sustainable investments.

From Reuters ● Dec. 20, 2022

A Bad Brains show in Forestville, Md., is described as “Another Punk Rock Bash,” suggesting that even fans were getting tired of the taxonomies — or could at least joke about them.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2022

There are also broader metaverse-related taxonomies like one from game designer Raph Koster, who draws a distinction between “online worlds,” “multiverses,” and “metaverses.”

From The Verge ● Oct. 4, 2021

Here, there are no villains, just the cruel inhospitality of space, dumb luck and the different taxonomies of heroism, decency and sacrifice that the Kingfisher crew members represent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2021

Related Words

• allocation
• allotment
• analysis
• arrangement
• coordination
• designation
• distribution
• grade
• regulation