"Sort of" means "kind of" or "like". It's typically used to compare two things, alluding to any similarities shared between them. An example: "Speaking French is sort of like speaking Spanish, given that their vocabularies both share their roots in Latin." In this example, I am explaining how speaking French is similar to speaking Spanish. Another example: "The cat made a sound sort of like a dog: it barked!" Alternatively, "sort of" can stand as a response to a question all by itself. E.g. -"Do you like classical music?" -"Sort of."

Sort of has two meanings. It can mean similar to, as explained by marg93. In this case we add 'like' so we can say one thing is 'sort of like' another thing. Meaning that it is similar, but not a close similarity. Grading similarity would be: identical, similar, quite like, sort of like, not very like, dissimilar. The second meaning is a vague response, usually to questions about personal likes and dislikes, where you don't have a strong opinion. Example question: Do you like sport? Possible answers: Yes, I love it; Yes, I enjoy it; Sort of; Not much; Not at all. Hope this helps

In modern English, especially spoken English, "sort of" and "kinf of" (often shortened to "sorta" and "kinda") are most often (though not always) used as "pause fillers" whith NO real meaning at all. They're like parasytes that many people just can't help using) Example: "She... kinda... turned around and I... sorta... looked at her". Exception: "sort of" and "kind of" are okay to use when they mean "type of" or "variety of". Example: "So, what's your favorite kind of music?" "This is the least expensive sort of ice-cream" etc.