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Glite Dictionary
to categorize

to categorize

59 3.5
To put things or people into groups by what they have in common
  • verb
  • /ˈkætəɡəˌraɪz/
  • US
translation icon : clasificar
  • Teachers often categorize students by their learning styles to better address their needs.
  • categorize people
  • categorize by type
  • categorize into themes

And the way we categorize them was in two groups.

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Examples

  • So Speaking of pages, let's talk about how you want to categorize your products.

    Zoe Hong

  • How are we going to categorize all of these buyers?

  • And the way we categorize them was in two groups.

    Danny Jones

  • Yeah, I think I would still categorize us in that way.

  • This is how people tend to categorize all the numbers.

  • Participants were asked to categorize their community of origin as being rural, small town, suburban, or urban.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The virtue seeker now must analyze, categorize and understand her feelings.

  • Each of the videos is approved and categorized by panelists who are approved by the folks in charge.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Participants were asked to categorize themselves into racial/ethnic categories, which the NAWS research team had created.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Once the list was compiled, the team reviewed and categorized each prevention article into one or two theme areas.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

to sort
vsto categorize
451 1.0

To put things into groups by type or order

focuses on putting something into a group by shared features
to label
vsto categorize
213 2.2

To describe someone with a single word or short term

is about assigning to a group rather than simply naming it
to classify
vsto categorize
110 3.4

To put people or things into groups based on shared features

is more about placing into a specific group in general use
to assign
vsto categorize
89 3.1

Decide the group, place, or role something belongs to in a system

is similar but emphasizes general grouping rather than formal assignment
to class
vsto categorize
19 2.9

To put people or things into groups by shared features

is the same action but stated as a general placement task
to assort
vsto categorize
17 4.2

Put things into groups that are alike

is narrower, focusing specifically on placing into one matching group
to pigeonhole
vsto categorize
4 7.6

To put someone into a narrow category that limits how others see them

is the neutral act of putting things into groups without judgement
to bracket
vsto categorize
2 5.0

To put people or things into the same group because they share a feature

is the broader act of assigning items to categories by similarity

How Specific

to systematize
  • US
3 6.7
to catalog
  • US
23 3.9
to categorize
  • US
59 3.5
sort
∞ 1.3
to group
38 1.2

Surface Forms

categorize infinitive
categorized past
categorized past participle
categorizing present participle
categorizes third person singular

Morphology

categorize = category (transparent) = category + ize

Clear, productive verb formation from the noun 'category' using the suffix '-ize' (orthographic y→i is regular), so the meaning 'to place into a category' is directly derivable.

Etymology

The word categorize comes from category, a word for a 'class' or 'group', and the ending -ize meaning 'to make'. So, to categorize is to 'make into a group' or to put things into classes.