taxonomy

6 synonyms for taxonomy, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — A system for sorting things into named groups and levels, so that related items sit together and each has a defined place.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

classification

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

hierarchy

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

categorisation ontology schema systematics

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

A system for sorting things into named groups and levels, so that related items sit together and each has a defined place.

“The team built a taxonomy of customer complaints to spot recurring problems.”

classification categorisation hierarchy ontology schema

2. noun

The branch of biology concerned with naming organisms and arranging them into ranked groups such as kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species.

“DNA evidence has forced several revisions to the taxonomy of songbirds.”

systematics classification

How to use taxonomy

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

biological taxonomy develop a taxonomy content taxonomy taxonomy of species

Neutral-to-technical; now common in content design, information architecture and business as well as biology.

Etymology

From Greek taxis "arrangement, order" and -nomia "method, law", coined in the nineteenth century for biological classification.

Full origin of taxonomy →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between taxonomy and ontology?

A taxonomy arranges things in a hierarchy of broader and narrower categories. An ontology goes further, defining many kinds of relationship between items — part of, causes, made from — not just parent and child.

What is the difference between taxonomy and classification?

Classification is the act of putting individual things into groups. Taxonomy is the study and design of the grouping system itself, including the rules and the names. Loosely, taxonomy is the map and classification is using it.

What are the levels of biological taxonomy?

The main ranks, from broadest to narrowest, are domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. Each organism is given a two-part scientific name from the last two, such as Homo sapiens.

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classification hierarchy schema systematics ontology

Nearby words

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