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Glite Dictionary
to sort by date

to sort by date

1 2.8
Arrange items in order by date, newest or oldest first
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : ordenar por fecha
  • To find the oldest files quickly, you should sort by date in the file manager.

Examples

  • "From there you can choose to sort by the date of the last post in descending order to put the most recent posts on top.

    Blog text (30)

  • You can sort by school or unit date posted.

  • These filings are sorted by date, with the most recent ones listed first.

    Academic text (2005)

  • However, it also allows access to archives that can be sorted by date, so it is possible to read original news articles from 1911.

    Academic text (2010)

  • In the application settings, you can easily sort by date to view the entries from earliest to latest.

  • To organize your photos, remember to sort by date taken before sharing them.

Antonyms

to mix up
  • Informal
65 2.7

To make people confused and things messy

disorder
31 3.7

A state in which things or places are not arranged

Surface Forms

sort by date infinitive
sorted by date past
sorted by date past participle
sorting by date present participle
sorts by date third person singular

Morphology

sort + by + date

The meaning 'to arrange items according to their dates' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'sort' (to place or arrange), the preposition 'by' (indicating criterion), and 'date' (a calendar day). This compositional pattern (verb + by + criterion) is a common and predictable construction in English and many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily understand it.

Etymology

The phrase sort by date comes from old offices and libraries where people would sort papers by the date written on them, putting the newest on top and the oldest at the bottom. That's why today sort by date means 'to put items in order by their dates'.