What does "divide" mean?
A thing that divides.
Divide
noun, verb
noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A thing that divides.
- Grammar: divide is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: dissever, part, split, split up.
- Useful contrasts: banded, clear blend, distinct parts mix.
- Usage evidence: The only way on Earth to multiply happiness is to divide it.
How to use "divide"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "divide" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "divide" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "divide" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "divide" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "divide" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "dissever" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "divide", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A thing that divides.
"Stay on your side of the divide, please."
- 2 a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems wordnet
- 3 An act of dividing.
"The divide left most of the good land on my share of the property."
- 4 a serious disagreement between two groups of people (typically producing tension or hostility) wordnet
- 5 A distancing between two people or things.
"There is a great divide between us."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A large chasm, gorge, or ravine between two areas of land.
"If you're heading to the coast, you'll have to cross the divide first."
- 7 The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest.
Verb
- 1 To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. transitive
"a wall divides two houses; a stream divides the towns"
- 2 perform a division wordnet
- 3 To share (something) by dividing it. transitive
"How shall we divide this pie?"
- 4 force, take, or pull apart wordnet
- 5 To cause (a group of people) to disagree. transitive
"Words divide us, Wiktionary unites us."
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 move or break apart wordnet
- 7 To calculate the number (the quotient) by which you must multiply one given number (the divisor) to produce a second given number (the dividend). transitive
"If you divide 6 by 3, you get 2."
- 8 make a division or separation wordnet
- 9 To be a divisor of. transitive
"3 divides 6."
- 10 separate into parts or portions wordnet
- 11 To separate into two or more parts. intransitive
- 12 act as a barrier between; stand between wordnet
- 13 Of a cell, to reproduce by dividing. intransitive
"[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, and that in several cases these bacteria were dividing and thus, by the perverse arithmetic of biological terminology, multiplying."
- 14 To disunite in opinion or interest; to make discordant or hostile; to set at variance.
"If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand."
- 15 To break friendship; to fall out. obsolete
"love cools, friendship / falls off, brothers divide."
- 16 To have a share; to partake. obsolete
"Make good this ostentation, and you shall / Divide in all with us."
- 17 To vote, as in the British parliament and other legislatures, by the members separating themselves into two parties (as on opposite sides of the hall or in opposite lobbies), that is, the ayes dividing from the noes.
"The emperors sat, voted, and divided with their equals."
- 18 To mark divisions on; to graduate.
"to divide a sextant"
- 19 To play or sing in a florid style, or with variations.
"About the bed sweet musicke did divide"
Antonyms
Example
"The only way on Earth to multiply happiness is to divide it."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "divide"?
Common synonyms include: dissever, part, split, split up, watershed, aberrate.
How do you use "divide" in a sentence?
The only way on Earth to multiply happiness is to divide it.
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English dividen, from Latin dīvidere (“to divide”). Displaced native Old English tōdǣlan.