carve somebody/something ↔ up phrasal verb ( see also ↑ carve )
1 . to divide land, a company etc into smaller parts and share it between people – used especially to show disapproval:
The Ottoman Empire was carved up by Britain and France after World War I.
The two companies are attempting to carve up a large slice of America’s publishing industry between them.
2 . British English informal to drive past a car and then suddenly move in front of it so that you are too close