classify
/ˈklæs.əˌfaɪ/verb
classify is spelled C-L-A-S-S-I-F-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, classify means “to identify by or divide into classes; to categorize” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in classify?
| Letters | 8: C-L-A-S-S-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is classify?
Classify appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce classify?
- UK /ˈklæs.ɪ.faɪ/
- US /ˈklæs.əˌfaɪ/
Classify has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-classify.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of classify
- classifies present, singular, he/she/it
- classifying participle, present
- classified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does classify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
to identify by or divide into classes; to categorize
Should we classify "make up" as an idiom or as a phrasal verb?
- 2
to declare something a secret, especially a government secret
They decided to classify that information.
- 3
To make classy
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate classify?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of classify: class..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Classify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | classifier |
| German | einordnen, einstufen, unterteilen, klassifizieren , als vertraulich / geheim einstufen |
| Portuguese | classificar |
| Spanish | clasificar, encasillar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does classify come from?
From French classifier. By surface analysis, class + -ify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).