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 of category

• 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

Each puzzle has exactly one solution, so watch out for words or items that seem to belong to multiple categories! —Mark Cooper, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

This specialized category of exercise made its way into fitness centers around 2000, and it's been a mainstay since. —Matt Parrott, Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2026

Based on its category classification, the robot knows its physical limits, which prevents it from crashing and dynamically redirects the movement to safely slide or traverse along the edge of the singularity boundary. —Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 26 Apr. 2026

This photograph, from Pakistan, won in the long-term project category for West, Central and South Asia. —Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 26 Apr. 2026

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