Meaning & use
categories
Last updated
“categories” is a form of “category”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
Groups into which people or things are divided because they share certain features.
Grammar: Plural of category: put items into categories. It cannot stand without a determiner in the singular.
Patterns
- divide something into categories
- fall into categories
The library sorts books into categories such as fiction, history and science.
Applicants fall into three categories, depending on their experience.
The prizes are awarded in several categories, including best actor.
nouncountabletechnical
In philosophy and statistics, the basic classes that a system uses to organize ideas or data.
Grammar: Used in academic writing, often with defined or broad: categories of data.
Patterns
- categories of something
- define categories
Aristotle described ten categories of being.
The survey used four age categories to group the responses.
Researchers must define the categories before they collect data.
Word forms
| singular | category |
|---|
Common combinations
- fall into categories
- Most complaints fall into two categories.
- broad categories
- The products are grouped in broad categories.
- separate categories
- The two awards are in separate categories.
- divide into categories
- The files were divided into categories by year.
- price categories
- Rooms come in three price categories.
Synonyms and how they differ
- classes
- Classes often suggests formal ranking or rank order, whereas categories is neutral grouping.
- types
- Types is looser and more everyday, with less sense of an official system.
- groups
- Groups can be any collection, but categories implies the members share a defining feature.
- classifications
- Classifications is more formal and refers to the system or act of sorting, not the groups themselves.
Word family
- category noun
- the singular form
- categorize verb
- to put into a category
- categorical adjective
- absolute, or relating to categories
- categorically adverb
- in an absolute, unconditional way
Commonly confused: categories or catagories?
categories vs catagories
This common spelling mistake is wrong. Remember the vowel after t is e in the stressed second part: cat-e-go-ries.
Practice
Which sentence uses categories correctly?
Choose one answer.
Nouns ending in consonant plus y change y to ies in the plural, giving categories. The other forms are spelling errors.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “categories”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.