classify

verb

ˈkla-sə-ˌfī How to pronounce classify (audio)
Definition of classifynext
1
as in to rank
to arrange or assign according to type classify the baseball cards in your collection on the basis of rarity

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to organize
to put into a particular arrangement classify the information you got from the Internet by source

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of classify Vaccine hesitancy in faith communities in the Americas Two years ago the entire region of the Americas – North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean – was classified as a measles-free zone. — Kathryn H. Jacobsen, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026 Friday morning, the weather service classified the weather event near Atlantic Beach as a tornado. — Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026 Snow leopards, which generally have a life expectancy of 10 to 13 years in the wild, are classified as vulnerable on the endangered list. — Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 21 Aug. 2026 The $1,180 style is classified as a loafer, though the design has none of the keeper straps, tassels or moccasin stitching that have been popular with the silhouette’s comeback. — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 20 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for classify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for classify
  1. rank
  2. organize
  3. distinguish
  4. arrange
  5. categorize
  6. order
  7. relegate
  8. group
Verb
  • Ottawa’s pipeline was highly ranked for years, but as its top young players have aged out of prospect status, the situation has shifted drastically.
    — Corey Pronman, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Each of these has a measurable end state no ranking report captures.
    — Paul M. Wilson, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of rank
Verb
  • Those ideas say some people are superior to others, and the inequality that exists in the world around us reflects those innate differences, and inequality is a good thing, and a necessary thing, and the only real way to organize social life.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The president is organizing a Republican midterm convention in Dallas next month that will serve as much a two-day rally for him as a boon to party candidates nationwide.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of organize
Verb
  • Because LLMs can’t reliably distinguish between content in an email sent by an untrusted party and user instructions entered directly into a prompt, the overly solicitous LLM faithfully follows them.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The dining room, meanwhile, is distinguished by an ornate coffered ceiling.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of distinguish
Verb
  • Palestinians and Lebanese displaced by the 1967 war were joining relatives or acquaintances in Dearborn, and residents arranged food and medical services for the new arrivals.
    — Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Solano also arranged for 30 Jackson patients to go to the 14-bed Dulce Hogar ALF on Northwest 26th Avenue between 2016 and the end of 2023.
    — Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of arrange
Verb
  • Jean Toomer’s hard-to-categorize work emerged in 1923 as an astonishing blend of genres, a brilliant composite of vignettes giving voice to facets of African-American life in the United States.
    — Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
  • This framework categorizes decisions as simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic.
    — Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of categorize
Verb
  • The site has now been sequestered and Malosso was ordered to tear down the theater, though its fate remains to be seen.
    — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • However, they can be ordered with Transitions lenses that darken outdoors and clear up inside.
    — Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of order
Verb
  • His main competition, the geriatric Aaron Jones, should be relegated to backup duty.
    — Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • West Ham United, Burnley, and Wolverhampton Wanderers have been relegated to the second division.
    — Jason Cohen, PC Magazine, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of relegate
Verb
  • Additionally, the bill would group private detention facilities with licensed behavioral health facilities already governed by strict state operating guidelines.
    — Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • But the part to focus on is the State Street SPDR S & P 500 ETF Trust’s (SPY) roughly 13% year-to-date gain surrounded by the other nine sectors that are more closely grouped around the benchmark S & P 500.
    — Todd Gordon, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of group

Browse Nearby Words

classifies
classify
classifying
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Classify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/classify. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on classify

Nglish: Translation of classify for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All