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Synonyms

split the difference

Idioms  

  1. Compromise between two close figures, divide the remainder equally. For example, You're asking $5,000 for the car and I'm offering $4,000; let's split the difference and make it $4,500. [c. 1700]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If Japan makes you nervous, split the difference.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 12, 2025

A few plan to bypass the grid indefinitely, and others expect to split the difference, using a mix of grid and on-site power.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

Wyndham Clark hit a 65 to close on 11 under, Gotterup a 67 for -12 and English split the difference with a 66 to finish a shot better still in outright second.

From BBC • Jul. 20, 2025

How are enlisted service members supposed to split the difference while on the ground?

From Slate • Jan. 15, 2025

How many times had he used me as a go-between to deliver packages to her, undercharging her so that later they could split the difference?

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.