subdivision

American  

[suhb-di-vizh-uhn] / ˈsʌb dɪˌvɪʒ ən /

noun

subdivisions plural

1. the act or fact of subdividing.

2. a product of subdividing, as a section of a department.

3. a portion of land divided into lots for real-estate development.

4. Botany, Mycology. a category of related classes within a division or phylum.

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subdivision British  

/ ˈsʌbdɪˌvɪʒən /

noun

1. the process, instance, or state of being divided again following upon an earlier division

2. a portion that is the result of subdividing

3. a tract of land for building resulting from subdividing land

4. a housing development built on such a tract

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subdivisional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• subdivisions
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subdivision subdivisions

Since the 1990s, Graham had lived in a one-story white-brick ranch in a wooded subdivision on a peninsula of Lake Hartwell, one of several man-made lakes in the area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

"This reflects a complex history of population subdivision, in which different populations lived in different regions and habitat types."

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026

We are in a subdivision called Baldwin Hills, or Baldwin Hills Estates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 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

The audible result of this slight increase in length of each subdivision is that the rhythm feels more relaxed, smoother and less rigidly precise.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

In 2025, Texas passed bills legalizing housing on commercially zoned land and subdivisions of starter homes, which were rendered difficult or illegal to build by municipal zoning laws, large lot requirements, or other design requirements.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

Housing reforms that increase supply, such as allowing smaller lots in new subdivisions, permitting duplexes, townhomes, and backyard cottages on existing lots, and changing zoning laws to allow housing nearer to jobs, are land-use issues.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

Those principles include compactness, contiguity and the preservation of political subdivisions, including cities and counties, and “communities of interest” that have geography, culture or an economic sector in common.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

Sometimes, he will drive elderly people from their homes in the subdivisions outside Santa Fe to doctors appointments and grocery stores for a minimum of $30.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

Peter Kilbom, a Washington-based business reporter, set out to study what seemed to be a growing geographical isolation by class: subdivisions segregated not by race, religion, or ethnic origin but by increments of income.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• tract