Definition

1. Verb:

   • To separate into parts or sections: To cause something to become distinct portions, often by creating a boundary or partition.
   • To perform the mathematical operation of division: To calculate how many times one number is contained within another.
   • To cause disagreement or disunity: To create a split or difference of opinion between people or groups.

2. Noun:

   • A line or point of separation: A boundary, especially a watershed ridge that separates river basins.
   • A significant difference or disagreement: A source of division, especially in opinion or interest.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • The teacher will divide the class into small groups for the project.
  • Please divide 20 by 4 to find the answer.
  • The controversial issue threatened to divide the community.

• Noun:

  • The Great Divide refers to the continental watershed in North America.
  • There is a deep divide between the two political parties on this policy.

Advanced Usage

• "to divide and conquer/rule": A strategy of gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into smaller, less powerful pieces that are easier to control.

  • The colonial power used a policy of divide and rule to maintain control.

• "to divide one's time/attention": To split or allocate one's time or focus between different activities.

  • She has to divide her attention between her career and her family.

Variants and Related Words

• Divisible (adj): Capable of being divided.

  • The number 10 is divisible by 2 and 5.

• Divider (n): A person or thing that divides; a physical partition.

  • We put up a room divider to create more privacy.

• Subdivide (v): To divide something that has already been divided.

  • The developer plans to subdivide the large plot of land into individual lots.

Synonyms

• Separate: To cause to move or be apart.
• Split: To break or cause to break forcibly into parts.
• Partition: To divide into parts, especially by a physical barrier.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Divide up: To separate something into portions to be shared.

  • They agreed to divide up the profits equally.

• Divide out: To distribute by dividing.

  • The teacher divided out the worksheets to the students.

Related Idioms

• Cross the great divide: To die (euphemism).

  • After a long illness, he finally crossed the great divide.

• Bridge the divide: To reduce or overcome differences between people or groups.

  • The new mayor promised to bridge the divide between the city's rich and poor neighborhoods.

Noun

1. a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems
2. a serious disagreement between two groups of people (typically producing tension or hostility)

Verb

1. force, take, or pull apart
   • He separated the fighting children
   • Moses parted the Red Sea
2. make a division or separation
3. come apart
   • The two pieces that we had glued separated
4. act as a barrier between; stand between
   • The mountain range divides the two countries
5. perform a division
   • Can you divide 49 by seven?
6. separate into parts or portions
   • divide the cake into three equal parts
   • The British carved up the Ottoman Empire after World War I