subcategorize
subcategorize verb: to categorize more specifically by placing in a subcategory.
Verb
subcategorize (third-person singular simple present subcategorizes, present participle subcategorizing, simple past and past participle subcategorized)
- To categorize more specifically by placing in a subcategory.
- To practice subcategorization.
- As we see from the examples in (55):
(55) (a) John will put [_(NP) the car] [_(PP) in the garage]
(55) (b) ^✽John will put [_(NP) the car]
(55) (c) ^✽John will put [_(PP) in the garage]
(55) (d) ^✽John will put
the Verb put subcategorizes (i.e. ‘takesʼ) obligatory NP and PP complements (to simplify...1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 421
- As we see from the examples in (55):
Forms of subcategorize
| third-person singular present | subcategorizes |
|---|---|
| present participle | subcategorizing |
| past participle | subcategorized |
| past | subcategorized |
| alternative form | subcategorise |
Origin of subcategorize
From sub- + categorize.
Words formed from subcategorize
Questions about subcategorize
- What does subcategorize mean?
- Subcategorize means to categorize more specifically by placing in a subcategory.
- What part of speech is subcategorize?
- Subcategorize is a verb.
- What is the past tense of subcategorize?
- The past tense of subcategorize is subcategorized.
Words near subcategorize in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: subcategorize (page history and authors). 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.
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Cite this entry: “subcategorize.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/subcategorize. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.