(~s, dividing, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
When people or things are ~d or ~ into smaller groups or parts, they become separated into smaller parts.
The physical benefits of exercise can be ~d into three factors...
It will be easiest if we ~ them into groups...
Divide the pastry in half and roll out each piece...
We ~ into pairs and each pair takes a region...
Bacteria reproduce by dividing and making copies of themselves.
= split
VERB: be V-ed into pl-n, V n into pl-n, V n in fraction, V into pl-n, V, also V n
2.
If you ~ something among people or things, you separate it into several parts or quantities which you distribute to the people or things.
Divide the sauce among 4 bowls.
= share
VERB: V n between/among pl-n
3.
If you ~ a larger number by a smaller number or ~ a smaller number into a larger number, you calculate how many times the smaller number can fit exactly into the larger number.
Measure the floor area of the greenhouse and ~ it by six.
VERB: V n by/into num
4.
If a border or line ~s two areas or ~s an area into two, it keeps the two areas separate from each other.
...remote border areas dividing Tamil and Muslim settlements.
...the long frontier dividing Mexico from the United States.
= separate
VERB: V n, V n from n
5.
If people ~ over something or if something ~s them, it causes strong disagreement between them.
She has done more to ~ the Conservatives than anyone else...
The party is likely to ~ along ideological lines.
? unite
VERB: V n, V prep
6.
A ~ is a significant distinction between two groups, often one that causes conflict.
...a deliberate attempt to create a Hindu-Muslim ~ in India.
= rift
N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp
7.
A ~ is a moment in time or a point in a process when there is a complete change from one situation to another.
The time had come to cross the great ~ between formality and truth.
= watershed
N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp
8.
You use ~ and rule to refer to a policy which is intended to keep someone in a position of power by causing disagreements between people who might otherwise unite against them.
The government’s policies of ~ and rule have only contributed to the volatility of the region.
PHRASE disapproval