sort of
UK/ˈsɔːt‿əv//ˈsɔɹt‿əv/
sort of adjective: preceded by a (and sometimes also followed by a): of a person, thing, etc.: similar but not identical to another person, thing, etc.
Adjective
sort of (not comparable)
- Preceded by a (and sometimes also followed by a): of a person, thing, etc.: similar but not identical to another person, thing, etc.
- Sandals, bound with thongs made of boars' hide, protected the feet, and a sort of roll of thin leather was twined artificially round the legs, and, ascending above the calf, left the knees bare, like those of a Scottish Highlander.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter I, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 9
- This young lady, the daughter of my old friend and companion in arms, the richest heiress in Burgundy, has confessed a sort of a—what was I going to say?—in short, she is a fool, […]1823, [Walter Scott], “Chapter VIII. The Interview.”, in Quentin Durward. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co....
- Synonyms:
- of sorts
Adverb
sort of (not comparable)
- Sometimes expressing hesitation, reluctance, etc.: to some extent but not entirely; approximately, in a way, not quite, somewhat.
- It sort of makes sense the way he explains it, but I still don’t really understand.
- A Yankee girl, who wished to hire herself out, was asked if she had any followers, or sweethearts? After a little hesitation, she replied, "Well, now, can't exactly say; I bees a sorter courted, and a sorter not; reckon more a sorter yes than a sorter no."1839, [Frederick] Marryat, A Diary in America, with Remarks on Its Institutions. […], volume II, London: […] [J. L. Cox and Sons] for Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, […], →OCLC, pages 217–218
sort of meaning in Tamil, Malayalam and Indonesian
sort of in Tamil
- to some extent but not entirely
- ஏதோ ētō
sort of in Malayalam
- faintly, slightly, remotely
- ചെറുതായി, അവ്യക്തമായി, സാമാന്യം, ദുർബ്ബലമായി, അല്പബലത്തോടെ, ഒരു തരത്തിൽ
- as it were, kind of, somehow
- തോന്നുംവിധം, ഏതാണ്ട്, ഒരുവിധത്തിൽ, എങ്ങനെയോ, അങ്ങനെ ഇങ്ങനെ, വല്ല പ്രകാരവും
sort of in Indonesian
- to some extent but not entirely
- semacam
Examples of sort of in a sentence
- Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXXIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page...
- 'I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,' the Chief was saying.1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword: The Turk Street Mile”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 8:
- I'll sort of borrow the money from my dad until I get on my own feet; and then I can own up and pay up at the same time.1901–1903, [George] Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman. […], Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable & Co., published 1903, →OCLC, Act II...
- "Why—why, we sort of expected he'd be here!" says she.1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks. Chapter III.”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 188, number 37, Philadelphia, Pa....
Synonyms of sort of
Forms of sort of
| alternative form | sorta |
|---|---|
| alternative form | sort-of |
Origin of sort of
From sort (noun) + of. The adverbial use is derived from the use of the term as an adjective in phrases such as “a sort of [something]”.
Questions about sort of
- What does sort of mean?
- Sort of means preceded by a (and sometimes also followed by a): of a person, thing, etc.: similar but not identical to another person, thing, etc.
- What is sort of in Tamil?
- Sort of in Tamil is ஏதோ (ētō). See Sort of meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use sort of in a sentence?
- Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.
- What part of speech is sort of?
- Sort of can be an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce sort of?
- Sort of is pronounced /ˈsɔːt‿əv/ (UK).
Words near sort of in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sort of (page history and authors); sort of (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-sort of.wav, En-au-sort of.ogg.
Cite this entry: “sort of.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sort_of. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.