bifurcate
verb
bī-ˈfər-
Did you know?
Yogi Berra, the baseball great who was noted for his head-scratching quotes, is purported to have said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Berra's advice might not offer much help when you're making tough decisions in life, but perhaps it will help you remember bifurcate. A road that bifurcates splits in two, like the one in Berra's adage. Other things can bifurcate (or be bifurcated) as well, such as an organization that splits, or is split, into two factions. Bifurcate comes from the Latin adjective bifurcus, meaning "two-pronged," a combination of the prefix bi- ("two") and the noun furca ("fork"). Furca, as you may have guessed, is also an ancestor of fork, which refers to the handy utensil that can (in a pinch) help us—as Berra might say—to cut our pizza in four pieces when we're not hungry enough to eat six.
Examples of bifurcate in a Sentence
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2025
His schedule became bifurcated between the two lives — early mornings sharpening, late nights cooking.
—Ahmed Ali Akbar, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025
Streaming, meanwhile, has bifurcated the nature of the modern-day executive, creating a fundamentally different structure with its own unique rules and incentives that differ from those that apply to executives who work at a traditional studio or network.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2025
Without the long corridor bifurcating the building, more units can have windows on multiple walls, which improves air flow and lets in more natural light.
—Adam A. Millsap, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bifurcate
Cite this Entry
“Bifurcate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bifurcate. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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bifurcate
intransitive verb
bī-ˈfər-
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