Division
dɪˈvɪʒən
Definitions
4 meaningsThe act or process of dividing something into parts; the state of being divided.
dɪˈvɪʒən
The act or process of dividing something.
The division of the land was a complex legal process.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're sharing your candy bar with friends. Division is like cutting it up so everyone gets a piece! It means splitting something into smaller parts.
👶 For kids: When you share something, like a pizza, by cutting it into pieces for everyone, that's division!
More Examples
The class learned about division in math class.
A clear division of labor is essential for efficient teamwork.
How It's Used
"Division is one of the four basic arithmetic operations."
"The company underwent a division of its assets."
A distinct part or section of a larger organization, group, or quantity.
dɪˈvɪʒən
A part or section of something.
The company's sales division reported record profits.
💡 Simply: Think about a big company. A 'division' is just a part of that company, like the sales team or the customer service team.
👶 For kids: When you have a toy set, each section like the cars, the animals, or the people, that’s like a division!
More Examples
The library has a separate division for children's books.
The football team was divided into offensive and defensive divisions.
How It's Used
"The marketing division is responsible for promoting the new product."
"The infantry division marched into the battlefield."
A state of disagreement or difference of opinion; disunity.
dɪˈvɪʒən
A disagreement or difference.
The political division in the country is quite pronounced.
💡 Simply: Think of a debate where people have opposite views. A 'division' is when people disagree and can't see eye to eye.
👶 For kids: If your friends want to play different games and can't agree, that's a division, like a disagreement!
More Examples
The family experienced division over the inheritance.
The company's internal division over the new policy led to a tense environment.
How It's Used
"There was a great division among the voters on the issue of tax reform."
"Their differing opinions created a division between them."
In mathematics, the operation of finding how many times one number (the divisor) is contained in another number (the dividend); the inverse of multiplication.
dɪˈvɪʒən
The process of sharing a number.
The answer to the division problem is 5.
💡 Simply: It's when you share or split something into smaller groups or portions.
👶 For kids: When you share cookies, the way you figure out how many each person gets!
More Examples
Division helps you to share a pizza equally among friends.
How It's Used
"Division is a fundamental operation in arithmetic."
Synonyms
Idioms & expressions
divide and conquer
A strategy used to gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into smaller, more manageable units, which are then controlled individually.
"The general used a divide-and-conquer strategy to weaken the enemy's defenses."
a house divided against itself cannot stand
A group or organization that is internally conflicted will fail.
"With so much infighting, the project team was doomed; a house divided against itself cannot stand."
From Middle English divisoun, from Old French division, from Latin divisiō (“a dividing, separation, division”), from dividō (“I divide”).
The word 'division' has been used since the 14th century to describe the act of dividing something. In the 16th century, it was also used to refer to a part or section of a whole.
Memory tip
Picture a pie being cut into slices – the act of creating these slices is division.