split

present singular third person splits · participle present splitting

1. ergativetransitiveTo divide fully or partly along a more or less straight line.

   He has split his lip.

   2 more examples

   a huge vessel of exceeding hard marble split asunder by congealed water

   1659 December 30 (date written), Robert Boyle, New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] H[enry] Hall, printer to the University, for Tho[mas] Robinson, published 1660, →OCLC

   The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom. This system splits water molecules and delivers some of their electrons to other molecules that help build up carbohydrates.

   2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, archived from the original on 03 Sep 2013

   Synonyms: cleave

2. intransitiveOf something solid, particularly wood, to break along the grain fully or partly along a more or less straight line.
3. transitiveTo share; to divide.

   We split the money among three people.

   1 more example

   Presently the 57-strong Class 378 fleet is split between the East London line and North London line, with 29 units allocated on the east side.

   2019 October, “Funding for 20tph East London Line service”, in Modern Railways, page 18

4. intransitiveslangtransitiveTo leave.

   Let's split this scene and see if we can find a real party.

   2 more examples

   Carlo and Carmen Vidal / just had a child / A lovely girl with a crooked smile / Now they gotta split 'cause the Bronx ain't fit / For a kid to grow up in

   1979, Machine, “There but For the Grace of God Go I”, in Machine

   I had this Palm Springs gig set up for Joey and the bitch split. Least he ain't nowhere around.

   1980, Paul Schrader, American Gigolo, spoken by Leon (Bill Duke)

   Synonyms: 23 skidoo, beat it, bug off, remove, egress, bugger off, book, bounce

5. intransitiveTo separate.

   Did you hear Dick and Jane split? They'll probably get a divorce.

   Synonyms: break up, split up

6. ambitransitiveTo (cause to) break up; to throw into discord.

   Accusations of bribery split the party just before the election.

7. intransitivetransitiveacts on a polynomialalgebraTo factor into linear factors.

   In the first case X²-2, the minimum polynomial of #92;sqrt 2, splits completely over #92;Q(#92;sqrt 2); in the second case we see that X³-2, the minimum polynomial of 3#92;sqrt 2, does not split completely over #92;Q(3#92;sqrt 2).

   2007, John M. Howie, Fields and Galois Theory, Springer, page 103

   1. intransitivetransitiveacts on a polynomial; generally; generallyalgebraTo be expressable as a direct sum of sub-modules, -algebras, etc.
   2. intransitivetransitiveacts on a polynomial; particularly a short exact sequence; particularly a short exact sequencealgebraTo contain an object which may be so expressed.
8. To be broken; to be dashed to pieces.

   The ship splits on the rock.

   c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]

9. intransitiveTo burst out laughing.
10. datedintransitiveslangTo divulge a secret; to betray confidence; to peach.

    "[…]I split, and tell all […]"

    1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC

11. especiallyball gamesFor both teams involved in a doubleheader to win one game each and lose another.

    Boston split with Philadelphia in a doubleheader, winning the first game 3-1 before losing 2-0 in the nightcap.

12. intransitivegovernmentTo vote for candidates of opposite parties.

1. not comparableDivided.

   Republicans appear split on the centerpiece of Mr. Obama's economic recovery plan.

   1 more example

   With the descent of the cold war, relations between the two countries (for this is, to all intents and purposes, what they became after the end of the war) were almost completely broken off, with whole families split for the ensuing decades, some for ever.

   2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian

2. not comparablealgebraHaving the middle object (group, module, etc.) equal to the direct sum of the others.
3. not comparableComprising half decaffeinated and half caffeinated espresso.
4. not comparableusuallysalebusinessDivided so as to be done or executed part at one time or price and part at another time or price.
5. historicalnot comparablebusinessGiven in sixteenths rather than eighths.

   10+³⁄₁₆ is a split quotation.

6. Londonnot comparablebusinessDesignating ordinary stock that has been divided into preferred ordinary and deferred ordinary.

plural splits

1. A crack or longitudinal fissure.
2. A breach or separation, as in a political party; a division.

   It destroys the class system and exploitation; it heals the split in man's nature and the crippled, one-sided development of the individual.

   1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 179

3. The termination of a romantic relationship.

   1 more example

   Sayani said she thinks today's separated couples are willing to take risks and are more open to learning through seeing a counsellor or parenting experts if it means avoiding a nasty divorce. She also believes people are motivated to strive for an amicable split because of friends' divorce horror stories.

   2017 July 5, Katrina Clarke, “Divorce selfies, conscious uncoupling and the rise of the amicable divorce”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 04 Dec 2023

   Synonyms: breakup, divorce

4. A piece that is split off, or made thin, by splitting; a splinter; a fragment.

   The kernels split in shelling, known as splits, form a fifth grade of shelled Virginia peanuts.

   1929, United States Tariff Commission, Agricultural products and provisions, page 1334

5. leather manufactureOne of the sections of a skin made by dividing it into two or more thicknesses.
6. usually in the phrase "to do the splits"cheerleadingA maneuver of spreading or sliding the feet apart until the legs are flat on the floor 180 degrees apart, either sideways to the body or with one leg in front and one behind, thus lowering the body completely to the floor in an upright position.
7. bodybuildingA workout routine as seen by its distribution of muscle groups or the extent and manner they are targeted in a microcycle.
8. slangball gamesA split-finger fastball.

   He’s got a nasty split.

9. bowlingA result of a first throw that leaves two or more pins standing with one or more pins between them knocked down.
10. A split shot or split stroke.
11. A dessert or confection resembling a banana split.
12. A unit of measure used for champagne or other spirits: 18.75 centiliters or one quarter of a standard 75-centiliter bottle. Commercially comparable to ¹⁄₂₀ (US) gallon, which is ¹⁄₂ of a fifth.
13. A bottle of wine containing 37.5 centiliters, half the volume of a standard 75-centiliter bottle; a demi.
14. athleticsThe elapsed time at specific intermediate points in a race or speedrun.

    In the 3000 m race, his 800 m split was 1:45.32

15. businessA tear resulting from tensile stresses.
16. gamblingA division of a stake happening when two cards of the kind on which the stake is laid are dealt in the same turn.
17. entertainmentA recording containing songs by multiple artists; a split single or split album.
18. systematicsThe division of a single taxon into two or more taxa; as opposed to a lump.

    [I]t would be a rare split in that it would be unlikely to result in an armchair tick for any birders, living or dead.

    2017 June 28, Australian Birdlife, Carlton, Victoria, page 76, column 1

1. A port city in Croatia.