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

Their divisibility was first established by the Senate during the 1862 trial of federal-turned-confederate Judge West Humphreys and reaffirmed by a parliamentary inquiry during the 1936 trial of impeached Judge Halsted Ritter.

From Washington Post • Jan. 13, 2021

If we were to look for patterns in the multiples of the numbers 2 through 9, we would discover the following divisibility tests:

From Textbooks • May 6, 2020

Use the divisibility tests to determine whether 180 is divisible by 2, by 3, by 5, by 6, and by 10.

From Textbooks • May 6, 2020

Looking for other patterns in Table 1.1 that shows multiples of the numbers 2 through 9, we can discover the following divisibility tests:

From Textbooks • Apr. 22, 2020

The divisibility of governed by the market, 8.

From An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Garnier, Germain