to arrange or order by classes; categorize to declare (information, documents, etc) of possible aid to an enemy and therefore not available to people outside a restricted group
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
clas•si•fy /ˈklæsəˌfaɪ/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object], -fied, -fy•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to arrange or organize by classes:She classified her students into three groups: low, average, and high.
- to limit the availability of (information, etc.) to certain persons only:The government classified those documents until the year 2010.
clas•si•fy
(klas′ə fī′),USA pronunciation v.t., -fied, -fy•ing.
clas′si•fi′a•ble, adj.
- to arrange or organize by classes;
order according to class. - Governmentto assign a classification to (information, a document, etc.). Cf. classification (def. 5).
- to limit the availability of (information, a document, etc.) to authorized persons.
- Latin classi(s) class + -fy
- 1790–1800
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged class, rank, rate, categorize, group.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'classifying' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
ABO system
- Dewey decimal classification
- Eightfold Way
- Gell-Mann
- Library of Congress classification
- Whyte classification
- blood typing
- classification
- discography
- draft board
- expansive classification
- female
- male
- occupation groupings
- race
- semantics
- spectral type
- systematism