categorize

verb

cat·​e·​go·​rize ˈka-ti-gə-ˌrīz How to pronounce categorize (audio)
categorized; categorizing

transitive verb

: to put into a category : classify
Birds are categorized by type in this field manual.
categorization noun
categorizable adjective

Examples of categorize in a Sentence

This software lets you categorize your photographs in many different ways. Their opinions can be categorized as conservative. Birds are categorized by type in this field guide.
Recent Examples on the Web That extended to the ways others tried to categorize her music. Heran Mamo, Billboard, 4 Mar. 2024 One way to categorize debt is by differentiating between installment debt and revolving debt. Michael Cannivet, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Sala said that continuing to categorize COVID as a respiratory disease remains useful for the majority of people who only get mild illnesses. Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 27 Feb. 2024 The number of kids between the ages of 2 and 19 who can be categorized as obese has now grown to 20%, or 1 in 5. Andrea Kane, CNN, 24 Feb. 2024 Why do people categorize some attachments as romantic love but not others? Georgi Gardiner, Discover Magazine, 19 Feb. 2024 After one of the shows in Beijing, the question of how to categorize the production seemed far from many audience members’ minds. Claire Fu, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 Researchers studied a range of power-grid incidents and then categorized their impacts (abbreviations). IEEE Spectrum, 14 Feb. 2024 The latter categorizes conscious entities, such as people. Theodore McDarrah, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'categorize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see category

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of categorize was in 1705

Dictionary Entries Near categorize

Cite this Entry

“Categorize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/categorize. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

categorize

verb
cat·​e·​go·​rize ˈkat-i-gə-ˌrīz How to pronounce categorize (audio)
categorized; categorizing
: to put into a category : classify
categorization noun

More from Merriam-Webster on categorize

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