subdivision
Americannoun
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the act or fact of subdividing.
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a product of subdividing, as a section of a department.
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a portion of land divided into lots for real-estate development.
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Botany, Mycology. a category of related classes within a division or phylum.
noun
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the process, instance, or state of being divided again following upon an earlier division
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a portion that is the result of subdividing
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a tract of land for building resulting from subdividing land
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a housing development built on such a tract
Other Word Forms
- subdivisional adjective
Etymology
Origin of subdivision
1545–55; < Late Latin subdīvīsiōn- (stem of subdīvīsiō ), equivalent to subdīvīs ( us ) (past participle of subdīvīdere to subdivide ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
When something large or complex is split into smaller parts, you can call each part a subdivision. The act of separating something into parts is also called subdivision. In North America, when someone mentions a subdivision, they probably mean a suburban neighborhood. When planned communities are designed, developers subdivide the plots of land to make it easier to sell them. If a botanist talks about subdivisions, she means something completely different: a ranked group of plants. No matter how the word is used, a subdivision is basically a smaller section of a section, or a part of something that's divided.
Vocabulary lists containing subdivision
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.
Neighbors rode bikes and walked the streets of the desert subdivision.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026
Some eight workers were arrested in a chaotic scene of laborers running away from federal vehicles racing through the three-street subdivision at high speed, the builders said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
Beyond its luxurious features, the home’s location within the prized Patricks Purchase subdivision also holds strong appeal for families, with some of the area’s best schools just a short drive away.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 20, 2025
They are responding with impact fees, traffic studies, minimum lot sizes, and moratoriums, among other urban-planning tactics to slow down subdivision builders.
From Slate • Jun. 12, 2025
No, instead I drive past where he’s been working lately, at a new subdivision out close to Glory Road.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
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.
