Definition of division
1a : the act or process of dividing : the state of being dividedb : the act, process, or an instance of distributing among a number : distribution
2 : one of the parts or groupings into which a whole is divided or is divisible
3 : the condition or an instance of being divided in opinion or interest : disagreement, disunity exploited the divisions between the two countries
4a : something that divides, separates, or marks offb : the act, process, or an instance of separating or keeping apart : separation
5 : the mathematical operation of dividing something
6a : a self-contained major military unit capable of independent actionb : a tactical military unit composed of headquarters and usually three to five brigadesc (1) : the basic naval administrative unit (2) : a tactical subdivision of a squadron of shipsd : a unit of the U.S. Air Force higher than a wing and lower than an air force
7a : a portion of a territorial unit marked off for a particular purpose (such as administrative or judicial functions)b : an administrative or operating unit of a governmental, business, or educational organization
8 : the physical separation into different lobbies of the members of a parliamentary body voting for and against a question
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Examples of division in a Sentence
the process of cell division
a division of profits into equal shares
After learning multiplication, the students were taught division.
Recent Examples of division from the Web
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What Grassley and Ernst did not mention are divisions within the Republican caucus in the Senate.
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To be clear, Jacobs said Auburn will not sacrifice games against traditional rivals to change divisions.
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More than 20 years later, Killian became U.S. attorney for that region, and Cook was chief of the criminal division, overseeing mostly violent crime, gang and drug cases.
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But Vanita Gupta, who was the head of Justice's civil rights division from October 2014 to January 2017, said that the administration's actions has already begun to adversely affect Americans across the country.
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Gary Fire Department and its Emergency Medical Services division may have taken a break for a lunch Friday, but the radios on their uniforms were still going off with calls for service.
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In promotional material, L3’s Security & Detection Systems division said its CT checkpoint scanner could streamline airport screening.
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Kenya’s ethnic divisions are rooted in colonial Britain’s policy of divide and rule.
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The division is more of a showcase unit, designed for parades and for threats to the Russian government around the Moscow region.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'division'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of division
Middle English, from Anglo-French devision, from Latin division-, divisio, from dividere to divide
First Known Use: 14th century
Synonym Discussion of division
DIVISION Defined for English Language Learners
division
playDefinition of division for English Language Learners
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: the act or process of dividing something into parts : the way that something is divided
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: something that physically divides or separates something else
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mathematics : the process of finding out how many times one number is contained in another
DIVISION Defined for Kids
division
playDefinition of division for Students
1 : the act or process of dividing or separating : the state of being divided or separated cell division
2 : the mathematical process of finding out how many times one number is contained in another
3 : something that divides, separates, or marks off The river is the division between the two towns.
4 : one of the parts or groups that make up a whole
5 : a large military unit
6 : a level of competitors He finished third in his weight division.
7 : a group of plants that ranks above the class and below the kingdom and in scientific classification is typically equal to a phylum
Medical Dictionary
division
playMedical Definition of division
1: the act or process of dividing : the state of being divided—see cell division
2: a group of organisms forming part of a larger group; specifically : a primary category of the plant kingdom that is typically equivalent to a phylum
Learn More about division
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See words that rhyme with division Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for division Spanish Central: Translation of division Nglish: Translation of division for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of division for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about division
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