division

[ dih-vizh-uhn ]
See synonyms for division on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or process of dividing; state of being divided.

  2. Arithmetic. the operation inverse to multiplication; the finding of a quantity, the quotient, that when multiplied by a given quantity, the divisor, gives another given quantity, the dividend; the process of ascertaining how many times one number or quantity is contained in another.

  1. something that divides or separates; partition.

  2. something that marks a division; dividing line or mark.

  3. one of the parts into which a thing is divided; section.

  4. separation by difference of opinion or feeling; disagreement; dissension.

  5. Government. the separation of a legislature, or the like, into two groups, in taking a vote.

  6. one of the parts into which a country or an organization is divided for political, judicial, military, or other purposes.

  7. Military.

    • (in the army) a major administrative and tactical unit, larger than a regiment or brigade and smaller than a corps: it is usually commanded by a major general.

    • (in the navy) a number of ships, usually four, forming a tactical group that is part of a fleet or squadron.

  8. a major autonomous or semi-independent but subordinate administrative unit of an industrial enterprise, government bureau, transportation system, or university: the sales division of our company; the Division of Humanities.

  9. (in sports) a category or class containing all the teams or competitors grouped together according to standing, skill, weight, age, or the like: a team in the first division; the heavyweight division in boxing.

  10. Botany. a major primary subdivision of the plant kingdom, consisting of one or more classes; plant phylum.

  11. Zoology. any subdivision of a classificatory group or category.

  12. Horticulture. a type of propagation in which new plants are grown from segments separated from the parent plant.

  13. the ornamentation of a melodic line in 17th- and 18th-century music.

Origin of division

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English devisioun, divisioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin dīvīsiōn-, stem of dīvīsiō, from dīvīs(us) “divided” (see divisible) + -iō -ion

synonym study For division

1. Division, partition suggest dividing into parts. Division usually means marking off or separating a whole into parts. Partition often adds the idea of allotting or assigning parts following division: partition of an estate, of a country.

Other words for division

Opposites for division

Other words from division

  • di·vi·sion·al, di·vi·sion·ar·y, adjective
  • di·vi·sion·al·ly, adverb
  • hy·per·di·vi·sion, noun
  • in·ter·di·vi·sion, noun
  • in·ter·di·vi·sion·al, adjective
  • in·ter·di·vi·sion·al·ly, adverb
  • mis·di·vi·sion, noun
  • non·di·vi·sion, noun
  • non·di·vi·sion·al, adjective
  • pre·di·vi·sion, noun
  • pro·di·vi·sion, adjective
  • re·di·vi·sion, noun
  • self-di·vi·sion, noun
  • sem·i·di·vi·sion, noun
  • su·per·di·vi·sion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use division in a sentence

  • The 8-year-old girl died at the hands of two known suspects, according to local divisional Commander Teddy Tei.

  • With each division, in addition to the divisional staff, there were officers detached from the headquarters staff.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
  • At Grosbeeren and Dennewitz, where his divisional officers fought and won, the Prince kept discreetly in the rear.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
  • First,—unless we get between the Divisional Generals and the enemy, there is literally no room!

  • Still it was only as a divisional commander of the fifth corps under Lannes that in 1808 he entered Spain, the scene of his glory.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for division

division

/ (dɪˈvɪʒən) /


noun
  1. the act of dividing or state of being divided

  2. the act of sharing out; distribution

  1. something that divides or keeps apart, such as a boundary

  2. one of the parts, groups, etc, into which something is divided

  3. a part of a government, business, country, etc, that has been made into a unit for administrative, political, or other reasons

  4. a formal vote in Parliament or a similar legislative body

  5. a difference of opinion, esp one that causes separation

  6. (in sports) a section, category, or class organized according to age, weight, skill, etc

  7. a mathematical operation, the inverse of multiplication, in which the quotient of two numbers or quantities is calculated. Usually written: a ÷ b, a b, a / b

    • army a major formation, larger than a regiment or brigade but smaller than a corps, containing the necessary arms to sustain independent combat

    • navy a group of ships of similar type or a tactical unit of naval aircraft

    • air force an organization normally comprising two or more wings with required support units

  8. (plural) navy the assembly of all crew members for the captain's inspection

  9. biology (in traditional classification systems) a major category of the plant kingdom that contains one or more related classes: Compare phylum (def. 1)

  10. horticulture any type of propagation in plants in which a new plant grows from a separated part of the original

  11. logic the fallacy of inferring that the properties of the whole are also true of the parts, as Britain is in debt, so John Smith is in debt

  12. (esp in 17th-century English music) the art of breaking up a melody into quick phrases, esp over a ground bass

Origin of division

1
C14: from Latin dīvīsiō, from dīvidere to divide

Derived forms of division

  • divisional or divisionary, adjective
  • divisionally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for division

division

[ dĭ-vĭzhən ]


  1. The act, process, or operation of finding out how many times one number or quantity is contained in another.

  2. A taxonomic classification within the plant kingdom that ranks immediately above a class and corresponds to a phylum in other kingdoms. See Table at taxonomy.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.