Variable Types Variable Types Cheatsheet Codecademy A categorical variable is a variable whose values can be put into countable numbers of distinct groups or categories In other words, the variables which take a response as a set of classes or categories are termed categorical They are not true measurements or counts It is possible to group or categorize the values A categorical variable, which is also referred to as a nominal variable, is a type of variable that can have two or more groups, or categories, that can be assigned There is no order to the categories that a variable can be assigned to In other words, the categories cannot be put in order from highest to lowest Categorical variable ap stats definition