divisibility

American  

[dih-viz-uh-bil-i-tee] / dɪˌvɪz əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

1. the capacity of being divided.

2. Mathematics. the capacity of being evenly divided, without remainder.

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divisibility British  

/ dɪˌvɪzɪˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the capacity of a dividend to be exactly divided by a given number

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Other Word Forms

• nondivisibility
  noun

Etymology

Origin of divisibility

1635–45; < Late Latin dīvīsibil ( is ) divisible + -ity

Explanation

Something has divisibility if you can split it into different sections or portions. If you've learned basic rules of divisibility in math class, you know that all even numbers can be evenly divided by 2. In math, divisibility refers to a number's quality of being evenly divided by another number, without a remainder left over. You can easily see the divisibility of 40 by 4, for example. The divisibility of a large piece of land means that it can be broken into smaller parcels to be sold separately, and the divisibility of a pan of brownies is clear when you slice into it and dole out equal portions to all of your friends.

Example Sentences

Mrs. B. There are certain properties which appear to be common to all bodies, and are hence called the essential or inherent properties of bodies; these are Impenetrability, Extension, Figure, Divisibility, Inertia and Attraction.

From Conversations on Natural Philosophy, in which the Elements of that Science are Familiarly Explained by Jones, Thomas P.

Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion of governed parts of speech, p.

From The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on the American Verb by Brinton, Daniel Garrison