category

noun

cat·​e·​go·​ry ˈka-tə-ˌgȯr-ē How to pronounce category (audio)
plural categories
1
: any of several fundamental and distinct classes to which entities or concepts belong
Taxpayers fall into one of several categories.
2
: a division within a system of classification
She competed for the award in her age category.

Examples of category in a Sentence

The cars belong to the same category. Taxpayers fall into one of several categories. She competed for the award in her age category.
Recent Examples on the Web The calls fall into two categories: kids who have accidentally ingested the products and adults who had bad reactions. Jen Christensen, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 In the Icon Awards categories, which honor groundbreaking contributions to the industry, Wrongful Conviction hosts Maggie Freleng and Jason Flom received the Social Impact Icon Award. Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024 Kimmel began things by acknowledging Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig's snubs in the Best Actress and Best Director categories, respectively. Lindsay Kimble, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 While the film was ultimately upset in every category, the cast and crew still had their style game on point for the occasion. Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024 Al Pacino seemingly announced the 2024 Oscars' highest competitive category exactly how Al Pacino wanted to, thank you very much — a development that amused ceremony host Jimmy Kimmel. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 11 Mar. 2024 On Sunday night, the Times’ Buchanan defended the choice for Gladstone to campaign in the leading actress category. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Yet Hollywood has a long history of celebrating new or underappreciated faces in the Best Supporting Actress category—only for their career to either stall or fail to reach similar heights afterward. Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024 Had Gladstone campaigned in the supporting category, her chances of winning might have been significantly higher. Clayton Davis, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'category.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin categoria, from Greek katēgoria predication, category, from katēgorein to accuse, affirm, predicate, from kata- + agora public assembly, from ageirein to gather

First Known Use

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of category was in 1588

Dictionary Entries Near category

Cite this Entry

“Category.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/category. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

category

noun
cat·​e·​go·​ry ˈkat-ə-ˌgōr-ē How to pronounce category (audio)
-ˌgȯr-
plural categories
1
: one of the divisions or groupings used in a system of classification
"species" and "genus" are biological categories
2

More from Merriam-Webster on category

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!