division

American  

[dih-vizh-uhn] / dɪˈvɪʒ ən /

noun

1. the act or process of dividing; state of being divided.

   Synonyms:

   distribution, allotment, apportionment, separation

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.

3. something that divides or separates; partition.

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

   Synonyms:

   demarcation, boundary

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

   Synonyms:

   segment, compartment

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

   Synonyms:

   alienation, estrangement, rupture, disunion, rift, breach

   Antonyms:

   union, accord

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

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

9. Military.

   1. (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.

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

10. 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.

11. (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.

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

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

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

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

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division British  

/ dɪˈvɪʒən /

noun

1. the act of dividing or state of being divided

2. the act of sharing out; distribution

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14. 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

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

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division Scientific  

/ dĭ-vĭzh′ən /

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.

3. See Table at taxonomy

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Usage

What is division? Division is the act of dividing, or separating, a whole into pieces, as in Mom made a chart that shows the division of chores is fair. A division is a piece of a whole, often with all divisions being equal in size. A division is also something used as a dividing line or mark between areas, such as a line of chalk on the sidewalk. Division can also be used figuratively to refer to a separation caused by a difference of opinion or disagreement, as in The division in our family was caused by a fight over whose macaroni and cheese was better. In arithmetic, division is the process that involves determining how many times one number is contained in another. For example, if we wanted to know how many times 2 is contained in 8, we would use division to find out, dividing 8 into groups of 2. Example: All questions related to funding and accounts should be sent to the accounting division.

Related Words

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 Word Forms

• divisional
  adjective
• divisionally
  adverb
• divisionary
  adjective
• hyperdivision
  noun
• interdivision
  noun
• interdivisional
  adjective
• interdivisionally
  adverb
• misdivision
  noun
• nondivision
  noun
• nondivisional
  adjective
• predivision
  noun
• prodivision
  adjective
• redivision
  noun
• self-division
  noun
• semidivision
  noun
• superdivision
  noun

Etymology

Origin of division

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

Explanation

Division is breaking something down into parts, splitting it up. When you have division of labor, everybody does her part. Division is a noun. It refers to taking a hunk — of pie, clothes, numbers, people — and splitting it into smaller bits. A division in the military sense is a group large enough to go to battle. Blame British mathematician John Pell for the long division you learned in math class (but proceeded to forget once you discovered the calculator). Any way you slice it, division is the process of separating something into smaller parts.

Example Sentences

RBC expects the insurer’s retail division to grow by 9.6% this year, higher than the 8.7% average predicted by other analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

During the protests, in a streetside convenience store, a cashier's comments highlighted the division among the Japanese people.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

Roche Holding ROP 1.07%increase; green up pointing triangle said it agreed to buy PathAI for up to $1.05 billion in a deal that seeks to bolster the artificial-intelligence offerings of its diagnostics division.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

D’Amaro and Johnston said that the division posted its first-ever double-digit quarterly operating margin and remains on track to deliver a margin of at least 10% for fiscal 2026.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

They were part of what is called the Street Crime Unit, a special division of the New York Police Department, dedicated to patrolling crime “hot spots” in the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

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