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
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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