sort

noun \ ˈsȯrt \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

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

The role eventually went to Maya Hawke, a newcomer (of sorts) making her onscreen debut, despite coming from a family steeped in the business.

— meredith blake, latimes.com, "PBS brings 'Little Women' to a new generation," 10 May 2018
Freeing prisoners from North Korea, in recent years, has largely required a high-level emissary of sorts.

— z. byron wolf, CNN, "The recent history of American political prisoners released from Iran and North Korea," 9 May 2018
Just as Fresenius defended canceling its $4.75 billion deal to acquire Akorn over allegations of data integrity fraud, the Food and Drug Administration handed Fresenius a gift, of sorts.

— ed silverman, STAT, "As Fresenius accuses Akorn of ‘blatant fraud,’ FDA cites complaints of ‘black gunk’ in Akorn products," 8 May 2018
For Santa Clara, the vote represents an about-face of sorts.

— dale kasler, sacbee, "Brown's Delta tunnels get $650 million boost from Bay Area water agency | The Sacramento Bee," 8 May 2018
But for Montana and countless other musicians, the Gibson bankruptcy is a reckoning of sorts: The electric guitar has lost its shine.

— patrik jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, "Fall of Gibson: Where have all the guitar heroes gone?," 7 May 2018
The investor gala and urban flashbacks of the second episodes made for a techno-mystery of sorts.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Westworld: Ride the Tiger," 6 May 2018
Meteor showers tend to last for a week or more, but there’s always one or two days where there’s an official peak of sorts.

— dave epstein, BostonGlobe.com, "The peak of this week’s Eta Aquarid meteor shower could start tomorrow," 5 May 2018
Katy's tweet included a video that is a timeline of sorts, showing Katy performing the song at various concerts and appearances from 2008 onwards and showing fans special behind-the-scenes footage.

— allie gemmill, Teen Vogue, "Katy Perry Gets Called Out on Twitter While Celebrating "I Kissed A Girl" Milestone," 4 May 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

sort Synonyms

Phrases

son of man;

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

These are minor snags, but sorting them out is tricky, especially for first-time restaurateurs.

— New York Times, "French Skills Meet Korean Flavors at Soogil in the East Village," 8 May 2018
The same is true of the treatment ratings: Customers can sort them by reported efficacy and popularity, but not by their own genotype.

— megan molteni, WIRED, "23andMe Wants You to Share Even More Health Data," 20 Apr. 2018
Klarkowski said the investigation has been taking so long because police have been gathering and sorting through digital evidence.

— kaila white, azcentral, "Surprise police investigate video of possible assault on teacher, allegation of pedophilia," 17 Apr. 2018
More than 40,000 submissions poured in, and the New Horizons team sorted through the options before making their recommendations to the IAU, which gives the final approval to make the names official.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "Sci-Fi and Snakes Rule in New Official Names for Features on Pluto’s Largest Moon and Mercury," 17 Apr. 2018
One fight cannot be paused while the others sort themselves out.

— gregory krieg, CNN, "There's something missing from Comey's impeachment answer," 16 Apr. 2018
This partnership with First Midwest Bank and Centier Bank includes collecting new and used books, sorting them, and delivering them in red wagons to local neighborhoods for no charge.

— sue ellen ross, Post-Tribune, "Arts group collecting shoes of every shape and size," 16 Apr. 2018
Other economists said that future studies will be important for sorting through the patterns in this new data.

— charlotteobserver, "Charlotte’s poor struggle to advance | Charlotte Observer," 16 Apr. 2018
And then, after the lights come up, we are left, bereft, to sort it all out alone.

— jack helbig, Chicago Reader, "The Wolf at the End of the Block," 12 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of sort

14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

sort Synonyms

Synonyms

accord, agree, answer, check, cohere, coincide, comport, conform, consist, correspond, dovetail, fit, go, harmonize, jibe, rhyme (also rime), square, tally;

Antonyms

differ (from), disagree (with);

Near Antonyms

contradict, dispute, gainsay;

negate, nullify;

clash, conflict, jar;

Related Words

equal, match, parallel;

align (also aline), line up, register;

Phrases

fall in with;

SORT Defined for English Language Learners

sort

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

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.

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sort

Definition of sort

sortable

sorter

Examples of sort in a Sentence

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First Known Use of sort

sort Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

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Phrases

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SORT Defined for English Language Learners

sort

Definition of sort for English Language Learners

sort

Definition of sort for English Language Learners

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sort

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sort

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