sort

Definitions

1. noun

   A kind or type of something.

   Examples

   • What sort of music do you like?
   • There was a sort of fear in the room.
2. noun

   In old-fashioned use, a way or manner.

   Examples

   • I'll trick you in another sort.
   • In what sort shall I appear to him?
3. noun

   In old-fashioned use, high rank or standing.

   Examples

   • She married into people of real sort.
   • He carried himself with a certain sort.
4. noun

   A person seen as a certain kind.

   Examples

   • He seems a decent sort.
   • She is a good sort and always helps.
5. noun

   In old-fashioned use, a group.

   Examples

   • A sort of shepherds were chasing the fox.
   • A sort of doves nested near the hall.
6. noun

   In British slang, a good-looking woman.

   Examples

   • He was seen with quite a sort last night.
   • She was thought the finest sort in the village.
7. noun

   The act of putting things in order.

   Examples

   • The librarian gave the returned books a quick sort.
   • He did a final sort of the papers before filing them.
   ≈sort-out
8. noun

   In computing, a method for putting a list in order.

   Examples

   • Quicksort and heapsort are popular sorts.
   • A merge sort keeps equal items in their order.
   ≈sort algorithm≈sorting algorithm
9. noun

   A single piece of printing type for one letter.

   Examples

   • The printer was short of a few sorts of the letter e.
   • Each sort was placed carefully into the composing stick.
10. noun

    A type or kind of person or thing.

    Examples

    • What sort of car do you drive?
    • He's not the sort to give up easily.
    ≈genre≈genus≈kind≈type≈variety