partition

[ pahr-tish-uhn, per- ]

/ pɑrˈtɪʃ ən, pər- /

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noun

a division into or distribution in portions or shares.

a separation, as of two or more things.

something that separates or divides.

a part, division, or section.

an interior wall or barrier dividing a room, area of a building, enclosure, etc., into separate areas.

a septum or dissepiment, as in a plant or animal structure.

Law. a division of property among joint owners or tenants in common or a sale of such property followed by a division of the proceeds.

Logic. the separation of a whole into its integrant parts.

Mathematics.

a mode of separating a positive whole number into a sum of positive whole numbers.
the decomposition of a set into disjoint subsets whose union is the original set: A partition of the set (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) is the collection of subsets (1), (2, 3), (4), and (5).

Rhetoric. (in a speech organized on classical principles) the second, usually brief section or part in which a speaker announces the chief lines of thought to be discussed in support of his or her theme.

verb (used with object)

to divide into parts or portions.

to divide or separate by interior walls, barriers, or the like (sometimes followed by off): to partition off a dormitory into cubicles.

to divide (a country or territory) into separate, usually differing political entities.Compare Balkanize.

Law. to divide property among several owners, either in specie or by sale and division of the proceeds.

Nearby words

partisan, partisanism, partisanship, partita, partite, partition, partition chromatography, partition coefficient, partition line, partitive, partitively

Origin of partition

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin partītiōn- (stem of partītiō) division, equivalent to partīt(us) past participle of partīrī to divide (see party) + -iōn- -ion

SYNONYMS FOR partition

11 portion, apportion.

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ANTONYMS FOR partition

2 unity.

11 unite.

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Related forms

par·ti·tion·a·ble, adjectivepar·ti·tion·ar·y, adjectivepar·ti·tion·er, par·ti·tion·ist, nounpar·ti·tion·ment, noun

pre·par·ti·tion, noun, verb (used with object)sub·par·ti·tion, nounsub·par·ti·tioned, adjectivesub·par·ti·tion·ment, nounun·par·ti·tioned, adjective

Synonym study

1. See division.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for partition

In short, Pakistan is an aggrieved state that got the short end of the stick when Partition happened.
CIA Agents Assess: How Real Is ‘Homeland’?|Chuck Cogan, John MacGaffin|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He joins Donohue in flanking the man as he disappears behind a partition and from camera view.
Synagogue Slay: When Cops Have to Kill|Michael Daly|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But of course no one in Moscow has anything to do with the “little green men” trying to partition Ukraine.
Putin Is Just Getting Started in Ukraine|Michael Weiss|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He has called the 1947 partition the “biggest blunder in history” and advocates peace with India.
Altaf Hussain Finally Arrested in London; Can His MQM Be Neutralized?|Bruce Riedel|June 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

PV traced his origins to Telangana, and yet he had bitterly opposed the idea of partition during his lifetime.
India’s Newest State Telangana Is Bosnia Redux|Kranti Rai|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Your two poles supporting the roof may help you to partition off the sleeping places, either with boards or with curtains.
With the Harmony to Labrador|Benjamin La Trobe
The parts of this partition are in Euclide, and yet without any shew of a division.
The Way To Geometry|Peter Ramus
It might be advisable for them to partition off a corner of this room for an office.
The Blue Birds' Winter Nest|Lillian Elizabeth Roy
The chiefs fought among themselves with such ferocity that in Chile and Peru the partition of Bolivia was seriously discussed.
The South American Republics, Part II (of 2)|Thomas C. Dawson
He bent nearly double, and in the act he jarred the partition again.
The Ambulance Made Two Trips|William Fitzgerald Jenkins

British Dictionary definitions for partition

partition

/ (pɑːˈtɪʃən) /

noun

a division into parts; separation

something that separates, such as a large screen dividing a room in two

a part or share

a division of a country into two or more separate nations

property law a division of property, esp realty, among joint owners

maths any of the ways by which an integer can be expressed as a sum of integers

logic maths

the division of a class into a number of disjoint and exhaustive subclasses
such a set of subclasses

biology a structure that divides or separates

rhetoric the second part of a speech where the chief lines of thought are announced

verb (tr)

(often foll by off) to separate or apportion into sectionsto partition a room off with a large screen

to divide (a country) into two or more separate nations

property law to divide (property, esp realty) among joint owners, by dividing either the property itself or the proceeds of sale

Derived Formspartitioner or partitionist, noun

Word Origin for partition

C15: via Old French from Latin partītiō, from partīre to divide

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for partition (1 of 2)

partition

early 15c., "division into shares, distinction," from Old French particion (12c.), from Latin partitionem (nominative partitio) "a sharing, division, partition, distribution; method of dividing," from past participle stem of partire "to part" (see part (v.)). Sense of "that which separates" first recorded late 15c.

Word Origin and History for partition (1 of 2)

partition

1741, from partition (n.). Related: Partitioned; partitioning.

Medicine definitions for partition

partition

[ pär-tĭsh′ən ]

n.

The act or process of dividing something into parts.

The state of being so divided.

A wall, septum, or other separating membrane in an organism.

Culture definitions for partition

partition

A division of a nation or territory into two or more nations. Cyprus, Germany, India, Ireland, Korea, Palestine, and Vietnam are notable examples of countries that have undergone partition.

partition

noun

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Origin of partition

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for partition

British Dictionary definitions for partition

partition

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for partition

Word Origin and History for partition (1 of 2)

partition

Word Origin and History for partition (1 of 2)

partition

Medicine definitions for partition

partition

n.

Culture definitions for partition

partition