Definition

1. Noun:

   • A part of a tree that grows out from the trunk or from a larger branch: A limb or division of a tree or shrub.
   • A division or office of a large business or organization, operating locally: A separate but dependent part.
   • A subdivision of a family, subject, or group: A category or area of specialization within a broader field.
   • A natural subdivision of a river, road, or railway: A part that diverges from the main path.

2. Verb:

   • To divide into one or more subdivisions: To separate into two or more parts that lead in different directions.
   • To put forth branches; to spread or separate into branches: To grow or develop new offshoots or divisions.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The bird built its nest on a sturdy branch of the oak tree.
  • The bank opened a new branch in the suburbs.
  • Linguistics is a branch of the social sciences.
  • We took the northern branch of the river.

• Verb:

  • The path branches here; the left fork leads to the lake.
  • The company plans to branch into new markets next year.

Advanced Usage

• "To branch out": To expand or diversify one's activities or interests.

  • After years in finance, she decided to branch out and start her own design firm.

• "Root and branch": Completely or thoroughly; affecting the whole of something.

  • The organization needed root and branch reform.

Variants and Related Words

• Branching (adj/n): The act of dividing or the pattern formed by divisions.
  • The branching pattern of the veins in the leaf.
• Branchless (adj): Having no branches.
• Branch office (n phrase): A local office of a larger company.
• Branch line (n phrase): A secondary railway line.

Synonyms

• Noun: Limb, bough, offshoot, division, subdivision, section, department, arm, affiliate.
• Verb: Divide, fork, bifurcate, diverge, ramify, split.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Branch off: To separate from the main part and go in a different direction.
  • A small road branches off from the main highway just past the bridge.
• Branch out into: To begin doing something different from your usual activities.
  • The restaurant is branching out into catering services.

Related Idioms

• Olive branch: A symbol of peace or an offer to end a dispute.
  • He offered an olive branch to his rival after their long argument.
• Grasp at every branch (or straw): To try every possible method, even unlikely ones, to solve a problem.
  • Desperate for a solution, she was grasping at every branch.

Noun

1. any projection that is thought to resemble a human arm
   • the arm of the record player
   • an arm of the sea
   • a branch of the sewer
2. a stream or river connected to a larger one
3. a natural consequence of development
4. a part of a forked or branching shape
   • he broke off one of the branches
5. a division of a stem, or secondary stem arising from the main stem of a plant
6. a division of some larger or more complex organization
   • a branch of Congress
   • botany is a branch of biology
   • the Germanic branch of Indo-European languages

Verb

1. divide into two or more branches so as to form a fork
   • The road forks
2. grow and send out branches or branch-like structures
   • these plants ramify early and get to be very large