Divide and conquer
noun, proverb, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A strategy for achieving political or military control. uncountable
- 2 An algorithm design technique that solves a problem by splitting it recursively into smaller problems until all of the remaining problems are trivial. uncountable
"The quicksort algorithm is an example of divide and conquer."
- 3 A phacoemulsification technique in which the nucleus is grooved and divided into halves. uncountable
- 1 To use a combination of political, military and economic strategies that aim to gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.
"It added that it can't begin pay talks without permission from Transport Scotland, and then cited a TSSA union survey of ScotRail that suggested that most of its members were against strikes, instead preferring job security rather than a pay rise. This prompted the TSSA to accuse ScotRail of trying to divide and conquer."
- 1 In order to rule securely, do not allow alliances between your enemies.
Example
More examples"It added that it can't begin pay talks without permission from Transport Scotland, and then cited a TSSA union survey of ScotRail that suggested that most of its members were against strikes, instead preferring job security rather than a pay rise. This prompted the TSSA to accuse ScotRail of trying to divide and conquer."
Etymology
From Latin divide et impera.