division

The word “division” means the act of splitting something into separate parts, or one of those resulting parts. In plain terms, splitting something up — a number, an organisation, an army, or a group of people's opinions — or the part or group that results.

“Division” is pronounced dih-VIHZHN (/dɪˈvɪʒn̩/ in IPA).

Here is “division” used in a sentence: “The company's European division reported strong growth this quarter.”

Words with a similar meaning to “division” include divisio and phylum.

“Division” is a noun.

The word “division” comes from Latin. From Old French division, from Latin dīvīsiō, built on dīvidō, "to divide".

“Division” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Division” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the act of splitting something into separate parts, or one of those resulting parts.

"Division" carries several senses from one core idea of splitting. In maths it is the operation of sharing a number into equal parts. In an organisation it is a section or department. In sport it is a league tier. It can also mean disagreement, as in division between groups. All stem from dividing something up.

They are opposite arithmetic operations. Multiplication combines equal groups to find a total — three groups of four make twelve. Division does the reverse, splitting a total into equal parts — twelve shared into three groups gives four. Each undoes the other, which is why they are taught together as inverse operations.

It depends on the sense. In arithmetic, the opposite is multiplication. In the sense of splitting apart, opposites include union, unity, and combination. When division means disagreement between people, its opposites are unity, harmony, and togetherness. So the antonym shifts with whether you mean the maths, the act, or the social meaning.

In a company, the sales division is one example — a distinct department handling one area of the business. In maths, twenty divided by four is a division problem. In sport, a team might play in the second division. Each shows the same idea: a whole separated into defined, named parts.