What does "sort" mean?
A general type.
Sort
/soɹt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A general type.
- Grammar: sort is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: kind, type, address, adjust.
- Useful contrasts: disorganized group, randomized content, combine.
- Usage evidence: It may be that the happiness awaiting us is not at all the sort of happiness we would want.
How to use "sort"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sort" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sort" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sort" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sort" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sort" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "kind" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sort", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A general type.
"I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn."
- 2 an approximate definition or example wordnet
- 3 Manner, way; form of being or acting. archaic
"Soon as the term of those six years shall cease, Ye then shall hither back return again, The marriage to accomplish vow’d betwixt you twain. Which for my part, I covet to perform, In sort as through the world I did proclaim, That whoso kill’d that monster (most deform) And him in hardy battle overcame, Should have mine only daughter to his Dame […]"
- 4 a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality wordnet
- 5 Condition above the vulgar; rank. obsolete
"“What think you, Captain Fluellen? is it fit this soldier keep his oath?” “He is a craven and a villain else, an’t please your majesty, in my conscience.” “It may be his enemy is a gentleman of great sort, quite from the answer of his degree.” “Though he be as good a gentleman as the devil is, as Lucifer and Belzebub himself, it is necessary, look your grace, that he keep his vow and his oath.”"
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 a person of a particular character or nature wordnet
- 7 A person evaluated in a certain way. informal
"good sort, bad sort"
- 8 an operation that segregates items into groups according to a specified criterion wordnet
- 9 Group, company. obsolete
"a sort of shepherds suing of the Chace"
- 10 A good-looking woman. Australia, British, informal
- 11 An act of sorting.
"I had a sort of my cupboard."
- 12 An algorithm for sorting a list of items into a particular sequence.
"Popular algorithms for sorts include quicksort and heapsort."
- 13 A piece of metal type used to print one letter, character, or symbol in a particular size and style.
"Green managed to recover a total of 151 sorts (the name for individual pieces of type) out of a possible 500,000."
- 14 A type.
- 15 Fate, fortune, destiny. obsolete
"For he is groſſe and like the maſſie earth, That mooues not vpwards, nor by princely deeds Doth meane to ſoare aboue the highest ſort."
- 16 Anything used to determine the answer to a question by chance; lot. obsolete
"No, make a lottery; And, by device, let blockish Ajax draw The sort to fight with Hector."
- 17 A full set of anything, such as a pair of shoes or a suit of clothes. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To separate items into different categories according to certain criteria that determine their sorts. transitive
"Sort the letters in those bags into a separate pile for each language."
- 2 arrange or order by classes or categories wordnet
- 3 To arrange into some sequence, usually numerically, alphabetically or chronologically. transitive
"Sort those bells into a row in ascending sequence of pitch."
- 4 examine in order to test suitability wordnet
- 5 To conjoin; to put together in distribution; to class. transitive
"Shellfish have been, by some of the ancients, compared and sorted with insecta."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 To conform; to adapt; to accommodate. obsolete, transitive
"I pray thee, sort thy heart to patience."
- 7 To choose from a number; to select; to cull. obsolete, transitive
"To send his mother to her father's house, that he may sort her out a worthy spouse"
- 8 To join or associate with others, especially with others of the same kind or species; to agree. intransitive
"The illiberality of Parents in allowance towards their children is an harmefull error: makes them base; acquaints them with shifts, makes them sort with meane companie; and makes them surfet more, when they come to plenty."
- 9 To suit; to fit; to be in accord; to harmonize. intransitive
"They are happie men, whose natures sort with their vocations, otherwise they may say Multum incola fuit anima mea; when they converse in those things they doe not affect."
- 10 To fix (a problem) or handle (a task). British, colloquial, transitive
"‘Does rewilding sort climate change? Yes!’: UK expert says nature can save planet and not harm farming [title]"
- 11 To attack physically. British, colloquial, transitive
"If he comes nosing around here again I'll sort him!"
- 12 To geld. transitive
Example
"It may be that the happiness awaiting us is not at all the sort of happiness we would want."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sort"?
Common synonyms include: kind, type, address, adjust, age breakdown, aggroup.
How do you use "sort" in a sentence?
It may be that the happiness awaiting us is not at all the sort of happiness we would want.
How do you pronounce "sort"?
Pronounced /soɹt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sort, soort, sorte (cognate Dutch soort, German Sorte, Danish sort, Swedish sort), borrowed from Old French sorte (“class, kind”), from Latin sortem, accusative form of sors (“lot, fate, share, rank, category”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English sorten, from Old French sortir (“to allot, sort”), from Latin sortīre (“draw lots, divide, choose”), from sors.