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.

---

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

---

verb

1. to divide and share

divvy ² British  

/ ˈdɪvɪ /

noun

1. dialect a stupid or foolish person

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• 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

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

Organized into “sanctuary school teams,” the volunteers—many of them moms already involved at their schools—use Google documents to divvy up tasks, such as delivering groceries to immigrant families.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

Magouyrk and Sicilia said in an interview they will each lean on the other’s area of specialty as they divvy up responsibilities at the very top.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025

Developers rejoice: L.A. is about to divvy up $387 million for affordable housing projects.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2025

Next stop is the art room, where we divvy up these forty-two precious names and transfer them onto strips of colored paper, to be formed into loops and added to the chain.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman