divide

/dəˈvaɪd/

/dɪˈvaɪd/

Other forms: divided; dividing; divides

When you divide something, you separate it into different parts. A pizza maker may divide a ball of dough into two parts to make two pies, or you might even divide a stick of gum in half to share it with a friend.

The verb divide can refer to the splitting apart of anything, whether it’s pizza dough, gum, time, a country, or a political group. Math types probably already know that the word also can refer to a mathematical function involving figuring out how many times a certain number contains another number. As a noun, divide means a hostile split between two groups, such as a growing divide between conservative and liberal groups.

Definitions of divide

1. noun

   a serious disagreement between two groups of people (typically producing tension or hostility)
   type of:

   disagreement, dissension, dissonance, misunderstanding

   a conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters
2. noun

   a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems
   synonyms: water parting, watershed

   examples:

   Great Divide

   that part of the continental divide formed by the Rocky Mountains in the United States

   types:

   continental divide

   the watershed of a continent (especially the watershed of North America formed by a series of mountain ridges extending from Alaska to Mexico)

   type of:

   line

   a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent
3. verb

   make a division or separation
   synonyms: separate

   types:

   partition, zone

   separate or apportion into sections

   break

   destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments

   break up, dispel, disperse, dissipate, scatter

   to cause to separate and go in different directions

   rail, rail off

   separate with a railing

   detach

   separate (a small unit) from a larger, especially for a special assignment

   close off, shut off

   isolate or separate

   screen off, separate off

   partition by means of a divider, such as a screen

   shatter

   cause to break into many pieces

   fracture

   break into pieces

   break in

   break so as to fall inward

   dash, smash

   break into pieces, as by striking or knocking over

   disband

   cause to break up or cease to function

   curtain off

   separate by means of a curtain
4. verb

   perform a division
   “Can you divide 49 by seven?”

   synonyms: fraction

   antonyms:

   multiply

   combine by multiplication

   types:

   halve

   divide by two; divide into halves

   quarter

   divide by four; divide into quarters

   type of:

   calculate, cipher, compute, cypher, figure, reckon, work out

   make a mathematical calculation or computation
5. verb

   separate into parts or portions
   “divide the cake into three equal parts”

   synonyms: carve up, dissever, divvy, separate, split, split up

   antonyms:

   unite

   act in concert or unite in a common purpose or belief

   types:

   subdivide

   divide into smaller and smaller pieces

   format, initialise, initialize

   divide (a disk) into marked sectors so that it may store data

   sectionalise, sectionalize

   divide into sections, especially into geographic sections

   triangulate

   divide into triangles or give a triangular form to

   unitise, unitize

   divide (bulk material) and process as units

   lot

   divide into lots, as of land, for example

   parcel

   divide into parts

   sliver, splinter

   divide into slivers or splinters

   paragraph

   divide into paragraphs, as of text

   canton

   divide into cantons, of a country

   Balkanise, Balkanize

   divide a territory into small, hostile states

   type of:

   change integrity

   change in physical make-up
6. verb

   force, take, or pull apart
   synonyms: disunite, part, separate

   types:

   compartmentalise, compartmentalize, cut up

   separate into isolated compartments or categories

   polarise, polarize

   cause to divide into conflicting or contrasting positions

   isolate, keep apart, sequester, sequestrate, set apart

   set apart from others

   disjoin, disjoint

   make disjoint, separated, or disconnected; undo the joining of

   disarticulate, disjoint

   separate at the joints

   disconnect

   make disconnected, disjoin or unfasten

   cut

   separate with or as if with an instrument

   tear

   separate or be separated by force

   joint

   separate (meat) at the joint

   gin

   separate the seeds from (cotton) with a cotton gin

   break

   separate from a clinch, in boxing

   break up, sever

   set or keep apart

   bust, rupture, snap, tear

   separate or cause to separate abruptly

   manicure

   trim carefully and neatly

   scissor

   cut with or as if with scissors

   plane, shave

   cut or remove with or as if with a plane

   slice, slice up

   cut into slices

   pink

   cut in a zigzag pattern with pinking shears, in sewing

   jag

   cut teeth into; make a jagged cutting edge

   carve, cut up

   cut to pieces

   carve

   form by carving

   carve, chip at

   engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface

   cube, dice

   cut into cubes

   julienne

   cut into long thin strips

   chop, hack

   cut with a hacking tool

   undercut

   cut obliquely into (a tree) below the main cut and on the side toward which the tree will fall

   hack

   cut away

   chop, chop up

   cut into pieces

   cut down, drop, fell, strike down

   cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow

   chip, nick

   cut a nick into

   nick, snick

   cut slightly, with a razor

   break off, chip, cut off, knap

   break a small piece off from

   pare, trim

   remove the edges from and cut down to the desired size

   circumcise

   cut the skin over the clitoris

   chamfer, chase, furrow

   cut a furrow into a columns

   indent

   cut or tear along an irregular line so that the parts can later be matched for authentication

   mortice, mortise

   cut a hole for a tenon in

   decouple, uncouple

   disconnect or separate

   detach

   cause to become detached or separated; take off

   cut down, mow

   cut with a blade or mower

   shear

   cut or cut through with shears

   gash, slash

   cut open

   cut down, slash

   cut with sweeping strokes; as with an ax or machete

   tap

   cut a female screw thread with a tap

   hob

   cut with a hob

   bore, drill

   make a hole, especially with a pointed power or hand tool

   clip, nip, nip off, snip, snip off

   sever or remove by pinching or snipping

   dissect

   cut open or cut apart

   bisect

   cut in half or cut in two

   transect

   cut across or divide transversely

   trisect

   cut in three

   pare, whittle

   cut small bits or pare shavings from

   chatter

   cut unevenly with a chattering tool

   cut away

   remove by cutting off or away

   tomahawk

   fight or cut with an ax-like weapon

   saber, sabre

   cut or injure with a saber

   rebate

   cut a rebate in (timber or stone)

   cradle

   cut grain with a cradle scythe

   incise

   make an incision into by carving or cutting

   trench

   cut or carve deeply into

   bob, dock, tail

   remove or shorten the tail of an animal

   cleave, rive, split

   separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument

   slice, slit

   make a clean cut through

   lacerate

   cut or tear irregularly

   saw

   cut with a saw

   discerp, lop, sever

   cut off from a whole

   pull, rend, rent, rip, rive

   tear or be torn violently

   rip up, shred, tear up

   tear into shreds

   chase

   cut a groove into

   bevel, chamfer

   cut or shape a material into an angle other than 90 degrees

   crosscut, cut across

   cut using a diagonal line

   rip

   cut (wood) along the grain

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
7. verb

   come apart
   synonyms: part, separate

   types:

   subdivide

   form into subdivisions

   polarise, polarize

   become polarized in a conflict or contrasting situation

   break up, calve

   release ice

   break away, break off, chip, chip off, come off

   break off (a piece from a whole)

   disjoin, disjoint

   become separated, disconnected or disjoint

   come away, come off, detach

   come to be detached

   segregate

   divide from the main body or mass and collect

   segment

   divide or split up

   reduce

   undergo meiosis

   section, segment

   divide into segments

   partition, partition off

   divide into parts, pieces, or sections

   discerp, dismember, take apart

   divide into pieces

   gerrymander

   divide unfairly and to one's advantage; of voting districts

   flake, flake off, peel, peel off

   come off in flakes or thin small pieces

   exfoliate

   come off in a very thin piece

   blow off

   come off due to an explosion or other strong force

   chop off, cut off, lop off

   remove by or as if by cutting

   unsolder

   remove the soldering from

   fall off

   come off

   syllabicate, syllabify, syllabise, syllabize

   divide into syllables

   quarter

   divide into quarters

   pound, pound off

   partition off into compartments

   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
8. verb

   act as a barrier between; stand between
   “The mountain range divides the two countries”

   synonyms: separate