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sort

SORT/soɹt/SaySAWTUK/sɔːt//soːt/

Pluralsorts

Verbsorts, sorting, sorted

22 meanings of sort

Practice

  1. 1
    kindnouncountable
    A general kind or category that things or people can be grouped into.

    This sort of problem comes up often in long negotiations.

    What sort of music do you usually listen to on long drives?

    UsageUsually sort of + noun: what sort of music. A sort of path is roughly a path; a path of sorts sounds grudging.

    Similarkind, type, category, variety, class

    Note

    Behind it stands Latin sors, a word for a lot, a fate, a share, a rank and a category. Most of the noun's older meanings are pieces of that range.

  2. 2
    separate by kindverbtransitive
    To separate things into groups according to their kind, size or another quality, putting each with others like it.

    Volunteers sort donated clothing into bins by size.

    The software sorts incoming messages into folders automatically.

    UsageUsually into for the groups and by for the quality: sort letters into piles, sort socks by color.

    Similarclassify, separate, sift

    Note

    Newton's Opticks of 1704 pairs it with parted, speaking of rays "parted and sorted from one another." The pairing shows the separating at the verb's core.

  3. 3
    in sequenceverbtransitive
    To arrange items into a sequence, usually by number, letter, or date.

    The program can sort thousands of records in seconds.

    He sorted the spreadsheet by total revenue.

    UsageUsually by what sets the order, or with order: sort by date, sort names in alphabetical order.

    Similarorder, rank

    Oppositeshuffle, jumble, scramble

    Note

    Ordering rather than grouping: the result is a row, not a set of piles. The wording rarely settles it, since sort by color can mean either this or separating by category; words like ascending, alphabetically or by date are what point to a sequence.

  4. 4
    take care ofverbcolloquialBritishtransitive
    To fix a problem or handle a task so that it is taken care of.

    Don't worry about the leaking boiler; the plumber is coming in the morning to sort it.

    The plumber sorted the leak before lunch.

    UsageShort for sort out, with the task as object: sort the paperwork, get it sorted. In formal writing, resolve or deal with is safer.

    Similarfix, handle, resolve, settle

    Note

    A 2024 headline reported by Donna Ferguson asks "Does rewilding sort climate change?", casual even about the largest of problems.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of sort apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 5–8, 11, 13–17

Borrowed through Middle English from Old French sorte ("class, kind"), which came from Latin sors (accusative sortem), meaning "lot, fate, share, rank, or category." It is related to Dutch soort, German Sorte, Danish sort, and Swedish sort.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  • English sort comes through Middle English from Old French sorte, meaning class or kind. en.wiktionary.org
  • Old French sorte came from Latin sors, with accusative sortem. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin sors had meanings including lot, fate, share, rank and category. en.wiktionary.org
  • English sort is etymologically related to Dutch soort, German Sorte, Danish sort and Swedish sort. en.wiktionary.org
Meanings 2–4, 9–10, 12

Goes back to Latin sors, which gave sortīre ("to draw lots, divide, choose"); Old French made it sortir ("to allot, sort"), and Middle English had it as sorten.