# split

Pronunciation: say "SPLIT" /splɪt/

## Verb

1. To break or cut something, or to break or burst open, into parts, especially lengthwise or along the grain, all the way through or only partway.
   - Simple: To break or cut something into parts, often in a long straight line, or to break open like this.
   - _The carpenter split the board lengthwise to make two thin panels._
   - _A single blow can split a coconut cleanly in two._
2. To divide something and share out the parts.
   - Simple: To share something by dividing it among people.
   - _We always split the cost of dinner._
   - _The siblings split their inheritance without any argument._
4. To cause a group to break up or fall into discord, or to break up in this way.
   - Simple: To cause a group to break apart or start fighting, or for a group to break apart like this.
   - _Internal rivalries can split even the strongest alliance._
   - _The movement split into feuding factions within a year._
5. Of a couple, to end a relationship and go separate ways; to break up.
   - Simple: To stop being a couple and go separate ways.
   - _Many couples split over money long before anyone talks about divorce._
   - _The actors split last spring after six years together but remain close friends._
9. To leave or depart, often suddenly. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To leave a place, often suddenly.
   - _We should split before the manager notices._
   - _He split town the morning after the fight._
11. Of two teams playing a doubleheader, to each win one game and lose the other.
   - Simple: To each win one game and lose the other when two teams play twice in a day.
   - _The Yankees and Red Sox split their doubleheader, trading wins._
   - _After losing the opener, the home team won the nightcap to split the doubleheader with its rivals._
17. To burst out laughing, often suddenly and uncontrollably.
   - Simple: To suddenly burst into loud laughter.
   - _I thought I would split with laughter when the cat slid off the counter and into the sink._
   - _The clown's act was so silly that even the grumpy old man began to split with laughter._
19. To vote for candidates from opposing parties rather than supporting a single party's slate.
   - Simple: To vote for people from different political parties in one election.
   - _In some states a large share of voters split their tickets, backing one party for governor and the other for the Senate._
   - _Pollsters wanted to know how many voters would split their tickets between the two parties in November._

## Adjective

3. Describing something that is already divided or broken into two or more parts, as in split peas or a split screen.
   - Simple: Divided or broken into separate parts.
   - _The party entered the election with a split leadership._
   - _A split lip needed two stitches after the fall._

## Noun

6. A breach or separation within a group, such as a political party; a division.
   - Simple: A serious disagreement that divides a group into sides.
   - _The vote exposed a growing split in the coalition._
   - _A bitter split divided the membership into rival camps._
7. The manner in which money, votes, work or the like is shared out, or the proportions in which it is shared.
   - Simple: How something like money, votes, or work is shared out, or how big each part is.
   - _The final count showed a 60-40 split in favor of the new park._
   - _The partners argued for months over the split of the firm's profits._
8. A crack, tear, or long narrow opening in something, such as wood, rock, or leather.
   - Simple: A long crack or tear in something.
   - _The hikers spotted a split in the rock face._
   - _A split along the canoe's hull let water seep in._
12. A position in which the legs are stretched out straight in opposite directions, about 180 degrees apart, usually with the body lowered to the floor.
   - Simple: A position where your legs stretch out straight in opposite directions, usually flat on the floor.
   - _Her gymnastics coach praised the clean split she landed after the tumble._
   - _Few dancers can sink into a full split without years of stretching._
10. The time recorded at a checkpoint partway through a race or speedrun, or the time taken for one section of it.
   - Simple: The time recorded at a point partway through a race, or for one part of the race.
   - _His split at the 200-meter mark put him on record pace._
   - _The runner's final split showed she had slowed in the last lap._
13. A corporate action that replaces each existing share with several new ones, lowering the value of each share in proportion.
   - Simple: A change in which a company turns each of its shares into several new ones, each worth less.
   - _The board approved a three-for-one split, so every shareholder will receive three shares for each one held._
   - _Splits do not change a company's total value, only the number of shares outstanding._
14. A dessert or confection made in the style of a banana split.
   - Simple: A sweet dish made like a banana split, with ice cream and toppings.
   - _The diner's dessert menu lists a strawberry split, served in a long dish with three scoops and whipped cream._
   - _The new dessert menu features a caramel split topped with nuts._
15. A recording that features songs by two or more different artists sharing the release, such as a split single or split album.
   - Simple: A music recording that shares songs from two or more different artists.
   - _The label issued the split as a seven-inch with one band per side._
   - _Their first split paired two underground acts on a single cassette._
16. A piece split off or shaved thin from a larger whole; a splinter or fragment.
   - Simple: A piece broken or split off from something larger, often a thin strip.
   - _Before weaving, she soaked each split in warm water so it would bend without cracking._
   - _The chair maker pulled long splits from the ash log and trimmed them to an even width._
18. An off-speed baseball pitch thrown with the index and middle fingers spread apart, causing it to drop sharply near home plate; a split-finger fastball. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A baseball pitch that drops sharply just as it reaches the batter.
   - _He struck out the side with a devastating split._
   - _His split dropped so sharply that hitters kept swinging over the top of it._
20. In bowling, an arrangement after the first throw in which the headpin is down and two or more pins remain standing with a gap between them.
   - Simple: In bowling, a pin setup where standing pins have a gap between them after the first throw.
   - _He somehow converted the 7-10 split for a spare._
   - _A wide split left her almost no chance of a spare._
21. A workout routine defined by how it distributes muscle groups and how they are trained across a microcycle.
   - Simple: A workout plan that divides exercises among different muscle groups across days.
   - _He switched to an upper-lower split to train each area twice weekly._
   - _Her new split dedicates a full day to back and biceps._
22. A small bottle of wine or champagne, usually a quarter of a standard bottle (18.75 centiliters), though the name is also used for a half bottle (37.5 centiliters).
   - Simple: A small bottle of wine or champagne, usually a quarter of a normal bottle and sometimes half of one.
   - _The flight attendant handed each passenger a split of sparkling wine._
   - _He kept a few splits in the cooler for last-minute guests._

## Verb

23. To reveal a secret or betray a confidence; to inform on someone. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To tell a secret you were supposed to keep.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Carried out in parts, with portions done at different times or at different prices.
- (noun) In biological classification, the division of a single taxon into two or more separate taxa, the opposite of a lump.
- (adjective) Made with equal parts decaffeinated and caffeinated espresso.
- (verb) Of a polynomial, to factor completely into linear factors over a given field; also, to factor a polynomial in this way.
- (noun) In gambling, a division of a stake that occurs when two cards of the kind the stake is laid on are dealt in the same turn.
- (verb) Of a module, algebra, or similar structure, to decompose into a direct sum of smaller substructures.
- (verb) To contain a part that breaks down as a direct sum, said of a sequence or similar construction linking algebraic structures.
- (adjective) Of a short exact sequence, having a middle term that decomposes as a direct sum of the outer terms.
- (adjective) Of a stock price quotation, stated in sixteenths of a dollar instead of eighths.
- (adjective) Of ordinary shares on the London exchange, separated into two classes, preferred and deferred.
- (noun) A layer of a hide that has been sliced into two or more thinner sheets.
- (noun) In croquet, a stroke that sends one's own ball and the ball it touches off in different directions.

## Origin

Attested since about 1567, from Middle Dutch splitten and/or Middle Low German splitten ("to split"), both ultimately going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic *splītaną to Proto-Indo-European *(s)pley- ("to split, splice").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/split (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).