category

noun

cat·​e·​go·​ry ˈka-tə-ˌgȯr-ē 

plural categories

1

: any of several fundamental and distinct classes to which entities or concepts belong

Taxpayers fall into one of several categories.

2

: a division within a system of classification

She competed for the award in her age category.

Synonyms

• type
• kind

Examples of category in a Sentence

The cars belong to the same category.

Taxpayers fall into one of several categories.

She competed for the award in her age category.

Recent Examples on the Web

And his career continued to progress through the junior categories. —Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025

This was the new category that the Archer aircraft would be certified under. —James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025

At least 3 people have been killed in Haiti as Tropical Storm Melissa causes devastating flooding in the Caribbean and meteorologists warn the storm could become a serious category 4 hurricane. —Josh Cradduck, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025

The film could manage to break the record with the addition of a new casting category this year. —Clayton Davis, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin categoria, from Greek katēgoria predication, category, from katēgorein to accuse, affirm, predicate, from kata- + agora public assembly, from ageirein to gather

First Known Use

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for category

• allegory
• amatory
• auditory
• clerestory
• crematory
• desultory
• dilatory
• dormitory
• excretory
• extempore
• feudatory
• gustatory

Kids Definition

category

noun

cat·​e·​go·​ry ˈkat-ə-ˌgōr-ē 

-ˌgȯr-

plural categories

1

: one of the divisions or groupings used in a system of classification

"species" and "genus" are biological categories

2

: class entry 1 sense 3a, kind