stratified

adjective

strat·​i·​fied ˈstra-tə-ˌfīd 

1

: formed, deposited, or arranged in stable layers or strata

Such forced ascent of stable air leads to the formation of a stratified cloud layer that is large horizontally compared to its thickness.

—Frederick K. Lutgens et al.

The epidermis is a stratified squamous epithelium forming the barrier that excludes harmful microbes and retains body fluids.

—Terry Lechler et al.

2

: divided into social classes

Through farming and fishing, they supported a dense population and highly stratified society that constructed irrigation canals, pyramids, palaces, and temples.

—Christopher B. Donnan

Examples of stratified in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, stratified analyses indicated that marital status impacted dementia risk consistently, regardless of a person’s education, depression level, or genetic risk factors (e.g., APOE-e4 status). —Ximena Araya-Fischel, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025

The amateur-baseball industry is a stratified mess. —Lindsey Adler, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2025

Meanwhile, the Arctic Ocean, once a warm and stratified basin, saw its surface waters cool significantly, eventually allowing sea ice to form. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025

But like ants around a stray potato chip, language has to gather around something, and in The Barbarians, that something is a stratified story. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing stratified

• stratified charge engine

Rhymes for stratified

• actinide
• aldehyde
• alkoxide
• alongside
• amplified
• arsenide
• beautified
• biocide
• butoxide
• calcified
• ceramide
• certified

Medical Definition

stratified

adjective

strat·​i·​fied ˈstrat-ə-ˌfīd 

: arranged in layers

especially : of, relating to, or being an epithelium consisting of more than one layer of cells