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 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 Now we’re bifurcated, with roughly a third of our households not meeting self-sufficiency standards, and more than a third achieving wealth that was unimaginable a generation ago. — Russell Hancock, Mercury News, 4 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
  • 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
  • The land is around 28 acres and would be subdivided into four separate lots for the rentals with 248 multi-family units across 11 buildings.
    — Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026
Definition of subdivide
Verb
  • Price discovery for a single company would end up quietly split across several incompatible venues.
    — Mike Cahill, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • However, People reported the former couple will split their assets, including homes, cars, an aircraft and any intellectual property.
    — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of split
Verb
  • This expansion weakened their interaction with the material, naturally dividing the mixture into heavier and lighter groups without using traditional solvent extraction.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 25 July 2026
  • Cooper said the attackers divided into groups and surrounded Drakeo’s party near the artist entrance.
    — Dave Brooks, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2026
Definition of divide
Verb
  • After two-and-a-half minutes, the booster separated from Starship, returning to Earth.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 25 July 2026
  • Resilience, and ample amounts of it, is a necessity, and one way to build this reservoir of resilience is to stop separating health and business.
    — Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026
Definition of separate
Verb
  • But traditional toys also showed strength, with the consumer products segment up 5%.
    — Joan Verdon, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Finding out the appropriate way to segment the market, determining the right segment to target, and positioning the company in the eyes of customers will enable a company to allocate its resources effectively.
    — Ezgi Eyüboğlu, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May 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 26 Jul. 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 aerie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

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

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

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

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

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
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
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All