26984 words

sort

13 definitions • 34 examples
1
a group of things that are of the same type or that share similar qualities:

Examples:

sort of We both like the same sort of music.
of some sort I'm going to have a salad of some sort.
What sort of shoes will I need?
all sorts of We saw all sorts (= many types) of animals in the park.
sorts of Many sorts of bacteria are resistant to penicillin.
This sort of camera is very expensive.
Plants of this sort need shady conditions.
2
the type of thing or person that you like:

Examples:

your sort of Hmm, this is my sort of wine!
3
used to show that what you have just said is only an example from a much larger group of things:

Examples:

They sell souvenirs, postcards, that sort of thing.
4
a person having the stated or suggested character:

Examples:

He seemed like a decent sort to me.
5
to put a number of things in an order or to separate them into groups:

Examples:

Paper, plastic, and cans are sorted for recycling.
sort something into something I'm going to sort these old books into those to be kept and those to be thrown away.
sort something by something You can use the computer to sort the newspaper articles alphabetically, by date, or by subject.
sort (through) She found the ring while sorting (through) some clothes.
6
to deal with something by repairing or organizing it:

Examples:

Can you sort the car by tomorrow?
get something sorted We must get the phone sorted soon.
I must get this paperwork sorted before I go on holiday next week.
7
the type of thing or person that you like:

Examples:

your sort of Hmm, this is my sort of wine!
your sort of thing I'd have thought these black trousers were more your sort of thing.
I wouldn't have thought he was your sort (= was the type of man you would be attracted to).
I'm sure it's a nice restaurant - it's just not my sort of thing.
This is my sort of breakfast - last night's leftovers fried up, between bread!
8
a group of things that are of the same type or that share similar qualities:

Examples:

What sort of equipment will she need?
He was squinting through the eyepiece of some sort of navigational device.
9
Sort can sometimes refer to a person of a particular type:

Examples:

What sort of person do you think I am?
10
A person might say a sort of or sort of when describing something about which the person does not have a clear or exact knowledge:

Examples:

He’s a sort of agent for athletes, but not officially.
She’s sort of running the company, I think, but her parents are still involved.
11
to put things in a particular order or separate them into groups according to a principle:

Examples:

[ T ] We have to sort the job applications into groups based on their qualifications.
[ T ] Paper, plastic, and cans are sorted for recycling.
[ M ] Sort out the clothes that you don’t want, and we’ll donate them to a charity.
[ I always + adv/prep ] He spent hours sorting through the photos (= searching them to find one).
12
to put a number of things in an order or to separate them into groups:

Examples:

Documents are sorted and indexed.
sort sth by sth Customer records can be sorted by name or by postcode.
13
a computer instruction that organizes things into a particular order:

Examples:

He's written a sort program for the database.

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