hive off

verb

Definition of hive off

intransitive verb

chiefly British : to break away from or as if from a group : become separate

transitive verb

chiefly British : to make separate: such as

a : to remove from a group

hive off the rookies for special training

b : to assign (assets, responsibilities, etc.) to another

c : spin off

Recent Examples of hive off from the Web

Better shows with lesser music have become more familiar than the shows with the very best stuff, which is mostly hived off to jazz and cabaret.

— steven strogatz, The New Yorker, "Did Andrew Lloyd Webber Ruin the Musical or Rescue It?," 20 Feb. 2017
The Europeans, unusually united in their defence of the deal, say that its purpose was precisely to hive off nuclear proliferation from broader concerns.

— The Economist, "CharlemagneSplits over the Iran deal test Europe’s bond with America," 25 Jan. 2018
If ProSieben can hive off its digital operations, its core German TV business remains an attractive asset, particularly given the company's relatively low stock price.

— scott roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, "Why Is Hollywood Shopping for International TV Channels?," 11 Dec. 2017
Pfizer and Honeywell International on Tuesday announced plans to hive off major business units in an effort to sharpen the focus on their core operations.

— gerard baker, WSJ, "The 10-Point.," 11 Oct. 2017
Twitter’s value has always been in these little pro-am micro-networks, hived off from the larger feed, where anyone with knowledge, wit, or skills can become central to the perception of a moment.

— alexis c. madrigal, The Atlantic, "Twitter's 280-Character Tweets Are Fine," 27 Sep. 2017
After hiving off enterprise technology nearly two years ago, the remaining HP was thought to be the more boring half, stuck in the purgatory of personal computers and printers.

— dan gallagher, WSJ, "Growth Is the New HP Way, for Now," 24 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hive off.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.