splitting

American  

[split-ing] / ˈsplɪt ɪŋ /

adjective

1. being split or causing something to split.

2. violent or severe, as a headache.

3. very fast or rapid.

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noun

1. Usually splittings. a part or fragment that has been split off from something.

   Some cavemen made their smaller tools from the splittings of stone.

splitting British  

/ ˈsplɪtɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of a headache) intolerably painful; acute

2. (of the head) assailed by an overpowering unbearable pain

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noun

1. psychoanal the Freudian defence mechanism in which an object or idea (or, alternatively, the ego) is separated into two or more parts in order to remove its threatening meaning

Other Word Forms

• antisplitting adjective

Etymology

Origin of splitting

First recorded in 1585–95; split + -ing ², -ing ¹

Example Sentences

First, it was a series of strong atmospheric rivers in January 2023 that set off a troublesome landslide, again splitting up the world-famous drive along Big Sur’s iconic coastline.

From Los Angeles Times

It was originally supposed to be a Y-shaped line from London and splitting at Birmingham towards Manchester and Leeds.

From BBC

Only Mr. Lincoln was talking about slavery splitting the whole country in two—“I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.”

From Literature

This idea of effectively splitting an electron is central to topological quantum computing, an approach designed to create qubits that are far more resistant to noise and errors.

From Science Daily

Mitch Kokai, a senior political analyst at the conservative John Locke Foundation, argued the panel’s finding was consistent with North Carolina’s history of splitting executive power among multiple executive branch officials.

From Salon

Related Words

• breakdown
• disintegration
• dissolution
• divorce
• separation
• split
• termination