divide and conquer

idiom

variants or divide and rule
: to make a group of people disagree and fight with one another so that they will not join together against one
His military strategy is to divide and conquer.

Examples of divide and conquer in a Sentence

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Everyone can't do everything, so divide and conquer as a team. Kathryn Lancioni, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025 Rothman’s two top lieutenants are Sony Motion Picture Group co-presidents Sanford Panitch and Josh Greenstein, who divide and conquer by focusing on production and marketing/distribution, respectively. Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 9 May 2025 With such a breadth of work and almost no time to do it, the production design team has to divide and conquer. Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 12 Feb. 2025 When faced with these sorts of calls, Horvath and West divide and conquer. Helena Gunderson, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for divide and conquer

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Cite this Entry

“Divide and conquer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divide%20and%20conquer. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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