classify
verb
clas·si·fy
ˈkla-sə-ˌfī 
classified; classifying
1
: to arrange in classes (see class entry 1 sense 3)
classifying books according to subject matter
2
: to consider (someone or something) as belonging to a particular group
The movie is classified as a comedy.
The vehicle is classified as a truck.
Examples of classify in a Sentence
Students will be learning about the ways scientists classify animals.
The online system can classify books by subject.
Recent Examples on the Web
Gu classifies premium as cars over 40,000 Euros ($47,000).
—
James Morris, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
The expert group, which classifies global hunger crises for the UN, said that all of Gaza’s two million people were suffering severe hunger, with at least a quarter of them facing starvation.
—Semafor Staff, semafor.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Many of the spaceplane's payloads have been classified, but officials typically identify a handful of unclassified experiments flying on each X-37B mission.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 22 Aug. 2025
For a region to be classified as in famine at least 20% of people must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.
—Michelle Nichols, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for classify
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James Morris, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
The expert group, which classifies global hunger crises for the UN, said that all of Gaza’s two million people were suffering severe hunger, with at least a quarter of them facing starvation.
—Semafor Staff, semafor.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Many of the spaceplane's payloads have been classified, but officials typically identify a handful of unclassified experiments flying on each X-37B mission.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 22 Aug. 2025
For a region to be classified as in famine at least 20% of people must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.
—Michelle Nichols, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for classify
Cite this Entry
“Classify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/classify. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
classify
verb
clas·si·fy
ˈklas-ə-ˌfī
classified; classifying
: to arrange in or assign to classes
classify books by subjects
classifier
noun
-ˌfī(-ə)r
Medical Definition
classify
transitive verb
clas·si·fy
ˈklas-ə-ˌfī
classified; classifying
: to arrange in classes that have systematic relations usually founded on common properties
how would you classify these animals
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