category
[ kat-i-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee ]
/ ˈkæt ɪˌgɔr i, -ˌgoʊr i /
noun, plural cat·e·go·ries.
any general or comprehensive division; a class.
a classificatory division in any field of knowledge, as a phylum or any of its subdivisions in biology.
Metaphysics.
- (in Aristotelian philosophy) any of the fundamental modes of existence, such as substance, quality, and quantity, as determined by analysis of the different possible kinds of predication.
- (in Kantian philosophy) any of the fundamental principles of the understanding, as the principle of causation.
- any classification of terms that is ultimate and not susceptible to further analysis.
categories. Also called Guggenheim. (used with a singular verb)
a game in which a key word and a list of categories, as dogs, automobiles, or rivers, are selected, and in which each player writes down a word in each category that begins with each of the letters of the key word, the player writing down the most words within a time limit being declared the winner.
Mathematics.
a type of mathematical object, as a set, group, or metric space, together with a set of mappings from such an object to other objects of the same type.
Grammar.
part of speech.
Origin of category
Words nearby category
Example sentences from the Web for categories
British Dictionary definitions for categories
category
/ (ˈkætɪɡərɪ) /
noun plural -ries
a class or group of things, people, etc, possessing some quality or qualities in common; a division in a system of classification
metaphysics
any one of the most basic classes into which objects and concepts can be analysed
- (in the philosophy of Aristotle) any one of ten most fundamental modes of being, such as quantity, quality, and substance
- (in the philosophy of Kant) one of twelve concepts required by human beings to interpret the empirical world
- any set of objects, concepts, or expressions distinguished from others within some logical or linguistic theory by the intelligibility of a specific set of statements concerning themSee also category mistake
Word Origin for category
C15: from Late Latin
catēgoria, from Greek
katēgoria, from
kategorein to accuse, assert