carve up

phrasal verb

carved up; carving up; carves up

usually disapproving

: to divide something into small parts

The once beautiful countryside has been carved up by developers.

Examples of carve up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Voters have self-sorted themselves geographically, and technology in recent years has allowed lawmakers to more effectively carve up congressional districts that give one party an advantage over another. —Ashley Lopez, NPR, 22 Feb. 2026

Trying to appease hungry, stone-throwing workers, the English elite carved up twenty acres of land on the outskirts of London into tiny provisioning gardens. —Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026

Now there could be an M&A frenzy in the works as prospective buyers plot ways to carve up his representation empire. —Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026

Confederate sympathizers carved up the old design, claiming the red-and-white Crossland pattern to signal rebellion loyalty. —Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 4 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for carve up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup