sorting

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
sort/sɔːt/

▶noun

• 1 a category of people or things with a common feature.

  ■ informal a person with a specified nature.

• 2 Computing the arrangement of data in a prescribed sequence.

• 3 archaic a manner or way.

▶verb

• 1 arrange systematically in groups.

  ■ separate from a mixed group.

  ■ (sort through) look at in succession for classification or to make a selection.

• 2 (sort someone/thing out) resolve a problem or difficulty.

  ■ (sort someone out) informal deal with a troublesome person.

– phrases
in some sort dated to some extent.
of a sort (or of sorts) of a somewhat unusual or inferior kind.
out of sorts slightly unwell or unhappy.
sort of informal to some extent.

– derivatives
sortable adjective,
sorter noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. sorte, from an alt. of L. sors, sort- ‘lot, condition’.

usage: The construction these sort of, as in I don't want to answer these sort of questions, is ungrammatical and should be avoided in formal writing. This is because these is plural and needs to agree with a plural noun; the correct usage is these sorts of questions. See also usage at kind1.