division

[dih-vizh-uhn]

noun

1. the act or process of dividing; state of being divided.

   Synonyms: distribution, allotment, apportionment, separation

2. Arithmetic.,  the operation inverse to multiplication; the finding of a quantity, the quotient, that when multiplied by a given quantity, the divisor, gives another given quantity, the dividend; the process of ascertaining how many times one number or quantity is contained in another.

3. something that divides or separates; partition.

4. something that marks a division; dividing line or mark.

   Synonyms: demarcation, boundary

5. one of the parts into which a thing is divided; section.

   Synonyms: segment, compartment

6. separation by difference of opinion or feeling; disagreement; dissension.

   Synonyms: alienation, estrangement, rupture, disunion, rift, breach
   Antonyms: union, accord

7. Government.,  the separation of a legislature, or the like, into two groups, in taking a vote.

8. one of the parts into which a country or an organization is divided for political, judicial, military, or other purposes.

9. Military.

   1. (in the army) a major administrative and tactical unit, larger than a regiment or brigade and smaller than a corps: it is usually commanded by a major general.

   2. (in the navy) a number of ships, usually four, forming a tactical group that is part of a fleet or squadron.

10. a major autonomous or semi-independent but subordinate administrative unit of an industrial enterprise, government bureau, transportation system, or university.

    the sales division of our company; the Division of Humanities.

11. (in sports) a category or class containing all the teams or competitors grouped together according to standing, skill, weight, age, or the like.

    a team in the first division; the heavyweight division in boxing.

12. Botany.,  a major primary subdivision of the plant kingdom, consisting of one or more classes; plant phylum.

13. Zoology.,  any subdivision of a classificatory group or category.

14. Horticulture.,  a type of propagation in which new plants are grown from segments separated from the parent plant.

15. the ornamentation of a melodic line in 17th- and 18th-century music.

division

/ dɪˈvɪʒən /

noun

1. the act of dividing or state of being divided

2. the act of sharing out; distribution

3. something that divides or keeps apart, such as a boundary

4. one of the parts, groups, etc, into which something is divided

5. a part of a government, business, country, etc, that has been made into a unit for administrative, political, or other reasons

6. a formal vote in Parliament or a similar legislative body

7. a difference of opinion, esp one that causes separation

8. (in sports) a section, category, or class organized according to age, weight, skill, etc

9. a mathematical operation, the inverse of multiplication, in which the quotient of two numbers or quantities is calculated. Usually written: a ÷ b , , a / b

10. 1. army a major formation, larger than a regiment or brigade but smaller than a corps, containing the necessary arms to sustain independent combat

    2. navy a group of ships of similar type or a tactical unit of naval aircraft

    3. air force an organization normally comprising two or more wings with required support units

11. (plural) navy the assembly of all crew members for the captain's inspection

12. biology (in traditional classification systems) a major category of the plant kingdom that contains one or more related classes Compare phylum

13. horticulture any type of propagation in plants in which a new plant grows from a separated part of the original

14. logic the fallacy of inferring that the properties of the whole are also true of the parts, as Britain is in debt, so John Smith is in debt

15. (esp in 17th-century English music) the art of breaking up a melody into quick phrases, esp over a ground bass

division

1. The act, process, or operation of finding out how many times one number or quantity is contained in another.

2. A taxonomic classification within the plant kingdom that ranks immediately above a class and corresponds to a phylum in other kingdoms.

3. See Table at taxonomy

Other Word Forms

• divisional adjective
• divisionary adjective
• divisionally adverb
• hyperdivision noun
• interdivision noun
• interdivisional adjective
• interdivisionally adverb
• misdivision noun
• nondivision noun
• nondivisional adjective
• predivision noun
• prodivision adjective
• redivision noun
• self-division noun
• semidivision noun
• superdivision noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of division¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English devisioun, divisioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin dīvīsiōn-, stem of dīvīsiō, from dīvīs(us) “divided” ( divisible ) + -iō -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of division¹

C14: from Latin dīvīsiō, from dīvidere to _divide

Synonym Study

Division, partition suggest dividing into parts. Division usually means marking off or separating a whole into parts. Partition often adds the idea of allotting or assigning parts following division: partition of an estate, of a country.

Example Sentences

Security for the former vice president is being provided by officers in a division meant to address crime in hard-hit areas, sources told The Times.

From Los Angeles Times

The news division said Friday that the Sunday show moderated by Margaret Brennan will only present interviews live or “live to tape” in which no edits are made.

From Los Angeles Times

“That was a painful swoon, and it cost us the division, but to be part of that Ripken celebration when your team was struggling so badly took the pain away,” Hudler said.

From Los Angeles Times

Byers, speaking on info from his sources, said that Ellison “plans to give Bari a role at CBS News that would… task his fellow Millennial with guiding the editorial direction of the division.”

From Salon

Green Bay, which presumably will be boosted by the Micah Parsons trade, has looked energized and ready to take control of the division early.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• affiliate 
• branch 
• category 
• class 
• department 
• section 
• sector 
• segment 
• share 
• split 

When To Use

What is division?

Division is the act of dividing, or separating, a whole into pieces, as in Mom made a chart that shows the division of chores is fair.A division is a piece of a whole, often with all divisions being equal in size.A division is also something used as a dividing line or mark between areas, such as a line of chalk on the sidewalk.Division can also be used figuratively to refer to a separation caused by a difference of opinion or disagreement, as in The division in our family was caused by a fight over whose macaroni and cheese was better.In arithmetic, division is the process that involves determining how many times one number is contained in another. For example, if we wanted to know how many times 2 is contained in 8, we would use division to find out, dividing 8 into groups of 2.Example: All questions related to funding and accounts should be sent to the accounting division.