sort

play

noun \ ˈsȯrt \

Definition of sort

1 a :a group set up on the basis of any characteristic in common :class, kind

b :one approximating the character or qualities of another

a sort of latter-day Abe Lincoln

c :person, individual

he's not a bad sort

2 archaic :group, company

3 a archaic :method or manner of acting :way, manner

b :character, nature

people of an evil sort

4 a :a letter or character that is one element of a font

b :a character or piece of type that is not part of a regular font

5 :an instance of sorting

a numeric sort of a data file

— after a sort

:in a rough or haphazard way

plays the piano, after a sort

— all sorts of

:many different :all kinds of

knows all sorts of people

— of sorts or of a sort

:in some respects but not entirely or truly

a vacation of sorts

— out of sorts

1 :somewhat ill

2 :grouchy, irritable

See sort defined for English-language learners

See sort defined for kids

Examples of sort in a Sentence

What sort of car do you drive?
He's not a bad sort.
She's not the sort to complain.
The program did a numeric sort of the data.

Recent Examples of sort from the Web

Colleges are responding to the cry with all sorts of relief efforts.

— holly epstein ojalvo, USA TODAY College, "The ways colleges are helping with Harvey relief will inspire you," 30 Aug. 2017
Prevalent in the show are plates of one sort or another, a common-enough ceramic form that serves well as message-bearing surface, akin to a blank canvas or a demonstration-worthy sign.

— leah ollman, latimes.com, "Resistance in clay: Ceramic artists speak out against Trump, war and more in 'We the People'," 29 Aug. 2017
Houston is a major port for all sorts of chemicals, Hicks said.

— vic ryckaert, Indianapolis Star, "Why Harvey will hit Hoosiers in the wallet," 28 Aug. 2017
Vegan Macaroni and Cheese** By some sort of wizardry, this vegan version of the Mac and Cheese pizza has sharp cheesy flavor, and the texture is creamier and cheesier than the original, which is next on this list.

— steffi victorioso, Los Angeles Magazine, "Every Pizza at Pizzanista!, Ranked," 23 Aug. 2017
The Harvard researchers realized these crystals could be used as a sort of artificial photosynthesis.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Cyborg Bacteria Could Turn CO2 Into Fuel," 22 Aug. 2017
There’s infighting between the former Bush appointees, the sort of normal Republicans, and the Trump-campaign folks who have been appointed.

— nick tabor, Daily Intelligencer, "‘Am I an Accomplice to This Terrible Thing That’s Happening?’," 22 Aug. 2017
Maybe because he was flooded with the sort of emotions only a 35-year-old man lying in an ambulance with six bullet holes in him can feel.

— john diedrich, jsonline.com, "'No face, no case': How one man tried to permanently silence the witnesses to his crimes," 18 Aug. 2017
According to a press release, Prince’s estate collaborated with Pantone, which forecasts color trends and operates the color matching system used by all sorts of industries, to come up with the new shade.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Prince Now Has His Own Shade of Purple," 15 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sort.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sort

Middle English, from Anglo-French, fate, lot, characteristic, from Latin sort-, sors lot, share, category — more at series

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

sort Synonyms

Synonyms

breed, class, description, feather, genre, ilk, kidney, kind, like, manner, nature, order, species, strain, stripe, type, variety

Related Words

model; sample, specimen; bracket, bunch, category, division, family, grade, group, grouping, lot, persuasion, rank (s), set, suite

Near Antonyms

animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter

Synonym Discussion of sort

type, kind, sort, nature, description, character mean a number of individuals thought of as a group because of a common quality or qualities. type may suggest strong and clearly marked similarity throughout the items included so that each is typical of the group.

- one of three basic body types

kind may suggest natural grouping.

- a zoo seemingly having animals of every kind

sort often suggests some disparagement.

- the sort of newspaper dealing in sensational stories

nature may imply inherent, essential resemblance rather than obvious or superficial likenesses.

- two problems of a similar nature

description implies a group marked by agreement in all details belonging to a type as described or defined.

- not all acts of that description are actually illegal

character implies a group marked by distinctive likenesses peculiar to the type.

- research on the subject so far has been of an elementary character

sort

verb

Definition of sort

transitive verb

1 a :to put in a certain place or rank according to kind, class, or nature

sort apples

sort mail

b :to arrange according to characteristics :classify —usually used with out

sort out colors

2 chiefly Scotland :to put to rights :put in order

3 a :to examine in order to clarify —used with out

sorting out his problems

b :to free of confusion :clarify —used with out

waited until things sorted themselves out

intransitive verb

1 :to join or associate with others especially of the same kind

sort with thieves

2 :agree, harmonize

his benign view sorts badly with reality
—Henry Trewhitt

3 :search

sort through some old papers

—

sortable

play \ˈsȯr-tə-bəl\ adjective

—

sorter

noun

See sort defined for English-language learners

Examples of sort in a Sentence

She started to sort the mail.
They sorted the winners from the losers.
The program can sort data alphabetically or numerically.

Recent Examples of sort from the Web

Any necessary paperwork was sorted out, clearing the way for Winnipeg to acquire Rosario.

— michael osipoff, Post-Tribune, "RailCats make tough move, trade ace pitcher Charle Rosario to Winnipeg," 10 Aug. 2017
Still to be sorted out on the judicial sequestration issue is how to handle luggage belonging to the judge and his staff.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "Guantánamo judge unfreezes Sept. 11 trial," 2 Aug. 2017
Some 10,000 of the opportunities on offer are part-time roles at sorting centers, smaller facilities that sift through packages shipped from Amazon’s warehouses and send them to local post offices.

— Ángel gonzález, The Seattle Times, "Amazon seeks to fill 50,000 warehouse jobs, including hundreds in Kent," 26 July 2017
If all of this sounds like young-people-Greek to you, here’s a handy guide to sort it all out.

— rebecca keegan, HWD, "Where Our Next Film Obsessions Will Come From," 25 July 2017
Kuchar, who had to wait 20 minutes for Spieth to get his situation sorted, missed his 15-foot birdie putt.

— star-telegram, "Dallas’ Jordan Spieth wins British Open in turnaround for the ages," 23 July 2017
Earlier, officers from Burbank and South Pasadena, as well as deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, spent part of the morning trying to sort out which agency has jurisdiction over the case.

— andy nguyen, Burbank Leader, "South Pasadena police reportedly involved in fatal Burbank shooting," 29 June 2017
State-of-the-art projectors cover the castle’s exterior in vibrant visual effects, while audio narration by the school’s famous Sorting Hat celebrates each of Hogwarts’ four houses—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.

— lisa beebe, Los Angeles Magazine, "The New Nighttime Light Show at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Is Spellbinding," 19 June 2017
A close-up photo of a blood sorting machine is pictured on July 6, 2012 at the blood collection center of the French Institution for Blood (EFS) in Paris.

— zach schonfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, "Ambrosia: This Startup Will Give You Blood Transfusions From Young People to Reverse the Aging Process. It Only Costs $8,000," 9 June 2017

First Known Use of sort

14th century

sort Synonyms

Synonyms

chum, company, consociate, consort, fraternize, hang (around or out), hobnob, hook up, mess around, pal (around), run, associate, travel

Antonyms

differ (from), disagree (with)

Related Words

affiliate, ally, attach, band, bond, club, collaborate, collude, confederate, conjoin, connect, cooperate, couple, gang, get along, get on, group, interrelate, join, knot, league, link, mingle, mix, rally, relate, side, socialize, team, tie, wed; befriend, friend

Near Antonyms

avoid, cold-shoulder, shun, snub; alienate, estrange; break up, disband, disperse, split (up); disjoin, dissociate, disunite, divorce, sever, split, sunder

SORT Defined for English Language Learners

sort

play

noun

Definition of sort for English Language Learners

: a group of people or things that have some shared quality : a particular kind or type of person or thing
: a person of a particular type
: the act of separating things and putting them in a particular order : the act of sorting things

sort

verb

Definition of sort for English Language Learners

: to separate and put (people or things) in a particular order
: to deal with (something or someone) in a successful way

SORT Defined for Kids

sort

play

noun \ ˈsȯrt \

Definition of sort for Students

1 :a group of persons or things that have something in common :kind

all sorts of people

2 :person 1, individual

He was not a bad sort.

3 :general disposition :nature

people of an evil sort

— out of sorts

1 :not feeling well

2 :easily angered :irritable

sort

verb

Definition of sort for Students

sorted; sorting

1 :to separate and arrange according to kind or class

Sort the beads by color.

2 :¹search 1

He sorted through a stack of papers.

Learn More about sort

See words that rhyme with sort Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sort Spanish Central: Translation of sort Nglish: Translation of sort for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sort for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up sort? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

sort

Definition of sort

Explore M-W

Examples of sort in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sort from the Web

Origin and Etymology of sort

sort Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of sort

sort

Definition of sort

sortable

sorter

Examples of sort in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sort from the Web

First Known Use of sort

sort Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Phrases Related to SORT

Related Phrases

SORT Defined for English Language Learners

sort

Definition of sort for English Language Learners

sort

Definition of sort for English Language Learners

SORT Defined for Kids

sort

Definition of sort for Students

sort

Definition of sort for Students

Learn More about sort

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

Let's Talk 'Tea'

These Are Fighting Words

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Words of the Year: 1066