1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

bifurcate

verb

Definition of bifurcatenext
as in to subdivide
formal to undergo division into two parts The stream bifurcated into two narrow winding channels.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bifurcate Both of those challengers say plans to bifurcate the city attorney’s office are rooted in longstanding conflicts between Feldstein Soto and the City Council. — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026 Levanon’s reading of the labor data is that the economy is bifurcating in a specific and underreported way. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 16 May 2026 However, beneath the surface, Cramer said the market has become increasingly bifurcated, with investors piling into a narrow group of artificial intelligence winners while severely punishing companies that disappoint or simply fail to impress. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 11 May 2026 Defendants misleading sales and advertising practices, along with bifurcating sales and marketing against the operation of the rental Program and debt enforcement, allowed Defendants to offload their supply of aging and stagnant inventory at an unlawful premium. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bifurcate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bifurcate
  1. subdivide
  2. split
  3. divide
  4. separate
  5. segment
Verb
  • How to travel with a lot of makeup Kasey Spickard, a celebrity makeup artist based in New York City, says his biggest tip is to subdivide when traveling with a lot of makeup.
    — Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The developers plan to subdivide the land into 25 lots for 20 market rate homes and five homes to be reserved as affordable for lower-income residents.
    — Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 21 July 2026
Definition of subdivide
Verb
  • The college sports bill is splitting Senate Democrats; many aren’t backing it because it is not seen as labor-friendly, and labor groups like the AFL-CIO oppose it.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The potential was evident in the opening minutes, when Barkov found Brady Tkachuk in stride after splitting the Hurricanes defense.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of split
Verb
  • Leftover produce, meat and pantry items were divided into items that could be used next week and what could go home with staff.
    — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • But Californians are narrowly divided on the wealth tax, and passage could come down to the wire when voters cast ballots in November.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of divide
Verb
  • Brad Pitt was separated from girlfriend Ines De Ramon during Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding.
    — Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Ravel’s patent application describes cleaning and shredding incoming textiles, removing metal and other nontextile components and separating waste into broad material categories before purification.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of separate
Verb
  • This is a great opportunity to segment and target donor audiences, particularly those making gifts close to or under $1,000.
    — Dale Bannon, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • An Audience Simulation Agent can segment audiences and simulate how individual groups could react to a message before its release.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of segment

Browse Nearby Words

bifocals
bifurcate
bifurcated
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Bifurcate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bifurcate. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All