Standard Lemma guide

categorize

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkætɪɡəˌɹaɪz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈkætəɡəˌɹaɪz/
  • General-American: /ˈkætəɡɔˌɹaɪz/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K AE1 T AH0 G ER0 AY2 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To assign a category; to divide into classes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • First, categorize incoming messages according to the needed actions.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

place into or assign to a category

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Children learn early on to categorize

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: categorise

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: reason

Narrower terms: classify, class, sort, assort, sort out, separate

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥-th2der.? Proto-Hellenic *kətá Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰ́ (kătắ) Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-) Proto-Indo-European *h2ger- Proto-Indo-European *h2goréh2 Proto-Hellenic *agorā́ Ancient Greek ᾰ̓γορᾱ́ (ăgorā́) Ancient Greek -εύς (-eús) Ancient Greek -εύω (-eúō) Ancient Greek ἀγορεύω (agoreúō) Ancient Greek κᾰτήγορος (kătḗgoros) Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh1ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh1yeti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Ancient Greek -έω (-éō) Ancient Greek κᾰτηγορέω (kătēgoréō) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh2 Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek κᾰτηγορῐ́ᾱ (kătēgorĭ́ā)bor. Late Latin catēgoriader. Middle French categorie French catégoriebor. Middle English English category Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English categorize From category + -ize.

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: դասակարգել (dasakargel) — to assign a category
  • Catalan: categoritzar — to assign a category
  • Chinese Mandarin: 分類 /分类 (fēnlèi) — to assign a category
  • Czech: kategorizovat — to assign a category
  • Danish: kategorisere — to assign a category
  • Esperanto: kategoriigi — to assign a category
  • Finnish: luokitella — to assign a category
  • French: classer — to assign a category
  • French: classifier — to assign a category
  • French: catégoriser — to assign a category
  • Galician: categorizar — to assign a category
  • German: kategorisieren — to assign a category
  • Greek: ταξινομώ (taxinomó) — to assign a category
  • Greek: κατηγοριοποιώ (katigoriopoió) — to assign a category
  • Hebrew: קטלג (qitlég) — to assign a category
  • Hebrew: סִוֵּג (sivvég) — to assign a category
  • Hindi: श्रेणीबद्ध (śreṇībaddh) — to assign a category
  • Icelandic: flokka — to assign a category
  • Icelandic: draga í dilka — to assign a category
  • Ido: klasigar — to assign a category
  • Ido: kategoriizar — to assign a category
  • Italian: categorizzare — to assign a category
  • Japanese: 分類する (bunrui suru) — to assign a category
  • Māori: whakarōpū — to assign a category
  • Māori: whakakāwai — to assign a category
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kategorisere — to assign a category
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: kategorisere — to assign a category
  • Portuguese: categorizar — to assign a category
  • Romanian: categorisi — to assign a category
  • Russian: классифици́ровать (klassificírovatʹ) — to assign a category
  • Russian: категоризи́ровать (kategorizírovatʹ) — to assign a category
  • Spanish: categorizar — to assign a category
  • Swedish: kategorisera — to assign a category
Real reading context

categorize in complete knowledge articles