What does categorization mean?
Categorization is the process of sorting objects, people, ideas, or information into groups based on shared characteristics. When we notice that certain items resemble one another and assign them a common label — books by subject, emails as spam or not spam, animals as mammals or reptiles — we are categorizing. The resulting arrangement is also called a categorization. Psychologists regard categorization as a cornerstone of human thought: it lets us compress vast experience into manageable concepts and respond quickly to new situations. Information scientists use the same term for the structured classification of documents and data, while modern computing applies automated categorization to everything from search results to product listings. The word carries a neutral, slightly formal tone; it names an essential intellectual tool rather than praising or criticizing what is being sorted. Related forms include the verb categorize and the adjective categorical.
nounThe act, process, or result of sorting people, things, or ideas into categories or classes according to shared characteristics.
- The mental or practical process of identifying features that objects, people, or concepts share and assigning them to groups or classes.
- (Computing, information science) The automated assignment of documents, emails, images, or other data to predefined categories.
"The library's categorization of its holdings makes even obscure titles easy to locate."
"Her categorization of the applicants by experience level made shortlisting far quicker."
"Modern spam filters rely on machine-learning models for automatic categorization of incoming email."
Used when referring to distinct acts or systems of categorizing rather than the general concept.
"Different cultures produce different categorizations of color terms."
Aristotle coined 'category' over two thousand years ago — and every tag you click online still descends from his ten ways of dividing up reality.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of categorization
The noun categorization derives from the verb categorize, formed within English from the noun category. Category traces back through Latin categoria to Greek katēgoria, meaning 'accusation' or, in Aristotle's philosophy, 'predication' — literally a statement about something — built on katēgorein, 'to declare or assert', from kata- ('down, against') and agoreuein ('to speak in the assembly'). Aristotle used the term for his fundamental classes of being, and the word broadened over time to mean any class or kind. Cognates sharing this Greek root include categorical, categorize, and the philosophical senses of predicative language. The suffix -ization marks the action or result of the verbal process.
Related word forms
How categorization is actually used
Categorization is a somewhat formal or technical word, frequent in academic writing, psychology, information science, and computing. In casual speech, native speakers more often say 'sorting' or 'putting things into groups'. It is uncountable when referring to the general process ('categorization is a fundamental cognitive skill') but takes a plural when referring to particular instances ('several useful categorizations of these plants exist').
Easily confused with categorization
Classification is a near-synonym but often implies a formal, systematic taxonomy, while categorization is the broader everyday act of assigning things to groups.