divvy

American  

[div-ee] / ˈdɪv i /

verb (used with or without object)

divvied, divvying

1. to divide; distribute (often followed byup ).

   The thieves divvied up the loot.

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noun

divvies plural

1. a distribution or sharing.

divvy ¹ British  

/ ˈdɪvɪ /

noun

1. short for dividend, esp (formerly) one paid by a cooperative society

2. a share; portion

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verb

1. to divide and share

divvy ² British  

/ ˈdɪvɪ /

noun

1. dialect a stupid or foolish person

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• divvies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of divvy

1870–75; div(ide) or div(idend) + -y ²

Explanation

To divvy something is to split it up between two or more people. You might divvy up a pizza among four friends, giving everyone two slices. If you and a friend have a lemonade stand, you'll divvy up the proceeds at the end of the day, sharing the money. You can also divvy other things: "Let's divvy this painting job — you do the trim, and I'll paint the walls." As a noun, a divvy is a share or a part of something — the word, from American English, is a shortened version of dividend, a divided payment, from the Latin dividendum, "thing to be divided."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

divvy divvies divvied divvying

FIFA’s prize money goes directly to national football federations, but each federation has the discretion to divvy up the funds however it wants, according to FIFA’s official governing documents.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026

Couples determined to be in committed intimate relationships generally have to divvy up property acquired while they were together, even if one party paid for it and holds the title.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

Colleges can divvy up the money among athletes and sports programs however they choose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

“The only way around it is for the states to agree how to divvy up the river in an equitable way.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026

“Call me tomorrow and we’ll divvy up assignments,” she said.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

It could be one of the defining moments between now and the next general election, as the government divvies up spending for the health service, defence, schools, the police, prisons, courts and much else.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing TV and film actors, joined the writers in a walkout over how Hollywood divvies up the cash in the streaming era and how humans can thrive in the artificial-intelligence era.

From New York Times ● Jul. 16, 2023

The 50/30/20 rule is a popular budgeting framework that divvies up after-tax income into three buckets: needs, wants and savings.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2022

The pro rata model, which is used by industry heavyweights like Spotify and Apple Music, pools all subscription money and divvies it up based on total streams across the platform.

From The Verge ● Jul. 21, 2022

Some poor divvies he'll bully-rag into swearin' lies an' others he'll buy.

From The Big-Town Round-Up by Raine, William MacLeod

Not how much GDP grew, but how it was divvied up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

And Standard Oil’s progeny formed the core of the “Seven Sisters” oil majors that divvied up among themselves the Middle East’s resources until the 1970s.

From Barron's ● May 7, 2026

Sixty-four teams are divvied up into eight divisions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

The rest get divvied up to other major conferences, along with the moves of Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12 to the SEC.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2024

The Exchange was one of the few remaining parts of the city that hadn’t been divvied up and claimed in the ceaseless skirmishes between Ketterdam’s rival gangs.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

But too often when thinking of reciprocity, we think of like for like, or divvying up expenses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

The second is that Central and Eastern European countries have a history of great powers divvying up their lands, first in 1938, in Munich with Adolf Hitler, and then in Yalta 1945, with Josef Stalin.

From Slate ● Feb. 20, 2025

They banged on maps of Africa, as if divvying up the continent to their liking.

From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

The office environment is calm and collegial, with meteorologists sharing tips as they gather around screens to watch the latest storm progress and divvying up duties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2023

He licked the red pulp from his fingers and finished divvying up the fish.

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin