subdivide
Americanverb (used with object)
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subdivides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
subdivided,
past participle, past
-
subdividing
present participle
-
to divide (that which has already been divided) into smaller parts; divide again after a first division.
-
to divide into parts.
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to divide (a plot, tract of land, etc.) into building lots.
verb (used without object)
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subdivides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
subdivided,
past participle, past
-
subdividing
present participle
verb
-
to divide (something) resulting from an earlier division
-
(tr) to divide (land) into lots for sale
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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subdividesimple
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subdividessimple
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have subdividedperfect
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has subdividedperfect
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am subdividingprogressive
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are subdividingprogressive
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is subdividingprogressive
-
have been subdividingperfect progressive
-
has been subdividingperfect progressive
Past
-
subdividedsimple
-
had subdividedperfect
-
was subdividingprogressive
-
were subdividingprogressive
-
had been subdividingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subdivide
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word subdīvīdere. See sub-, divide
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.
See Examples For:
And so even in the legislature, we subdivide power again between Senate and house.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
“When it last listed, there were two other offers from people that wanted to subdivide the land,” Maize said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2025
Unlike state criminal codes, the federal criminal code does not “grade” or subdivide most of its white-collar offenses.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2023
“That male lineage unifies the tomb, whereas female ancestors subdivide the community.”
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 4, 2023
He understood a lot about how to speculate for land, graze it, subdivide it, make it pay dividends.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
It starts broad with three domains: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya, then subdivides into kingdoms, continuing to narrow itself down all the way to species.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2022
Yet another, June Living, subdivides homes and individual apartments into single-room rentals.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 13, 2018
In the high-energy “Blow High, Blow Low,” a dance for 11 men becomes one for 10, then subdivides into smaller groups before suddenly swelling to 14.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2018
Anchored by an instantly likable teen, "Becoming Us" uses a screen that often subdivides into video blogs, FaceTime chats and texts to make its preference for selfie over soapbox instantly clear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2015
This central mass divides and subdivides until the separated sections grow so small and numerous as to lose individuality.
From The Meaning of Evolution by Schmucker, Samuel Christian
The Hong Kong government has given owners who register under the new system until 2030 to renovate their subdivided flats, but some landlords have already issued eviction notices to their tenants.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
It also features five precision-calibrated plates and degree divisions "so fine they are subdivided down to a third of a degree".
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
It is covered in a grid of regular box-like shapes, each subdivided into smaller, repeating units.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2026
But the agreement exempts 674 acres that the developer has already subdivided.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2026
“Some of us were busy surviving and couldn’t learn about subdivided farming.”
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
About 340 million years ago, leaves sported veins that branched like a tree, with a main “trunk” subdividing into multiple branches.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 30, 2024
Peter Gleick, author of more than a dozen books on water, orchestrates a voyage through the history of this precious and finite commodity, subdividing a rich timeline into three eras.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 20, 2023
“We went in, and it was like on each floor, every room had cloth partitions, like blankets held from the ceiling, subdividing it into multiple residents’ cubes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2022
Farrell said he has shied away from buying and subdividing farms.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2017
While, however, we have been thus subdividing or assembling our shafts, how far has it been possible to retain their curved or tapered outline?
From The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3) by Ruskin, John
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.
