divider

American  

[dih-vahy-der] / dɪˈvaɪ dər /

noun

1. a person or thing that divides.

2. dividers, a pair of compasses, as used for dividing lines, measuring, etc.

3. a partition between two areas or dividing one area into two, as a piece of cardboard in a box or a bookcase jutting out from a wall.

4. room divider.

5. Mining. bunton.

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divider British  

/ dɪˈvaɪdə /

noun

1. Also called: room divider.  a screen or piece of furniture placed so as to divide a room into separate areas

2. a person or thing that divides

3. electronics an electrical circuit with an output that is a well-defined fraction of the given input

   a voltage divider

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Other Word Forms

• predivider noun

Etymology

Origin of divider

First recorded in 1520–30; divide + -er ¹

Example Sentences

A witness told the station that the car had smashed into a divider at the tunnel that passes underneath the airport.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2026

Video from the scene showed a mangled, upside down sheriff’s motorcycle near the center divider about 30 yards away from a Toyota sedan, which was smashed from the rear.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2025

She bangs her shell against the metal divider to get their attention.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 21, 2024

I then watched the knucklehead plow into a wall on the shoulder, bolt from the car, run through traffic and leap over the center divider.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2024

Keira and I keep our beds separated with a makeshift divider duct-taped together out of old cardboard boxes.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Related Words

• affiliate
• branch
• category
• class
• department
• section
• sector
• segment
• share
• split