Split Splɪt Divide Make Extra Examples I Open

• he was a member of the team that split the atom in 1932.
• the turkish invasion of the northern part of cyprus ended with the island split in two.
• split the coconut in half.
• she split the class into groups of four.

split

Verb Forms

1. to divide, or to make something divide, into two or more parts
• SEE ALSO split somebody up
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/split-up
• He was a member of the team that split the atom in 1932.
• The Turkish invasion of the northern part of Cyprus ended with the island split in two.
• Split the coconut in half.
• She split the class into groups of four.
• Each chapter is split into two parts.
• The results split neatly into two groups.
• Slate splits easily into thin sheets.
• If the nail you use is too big, there's a chance that the wood will split.

Extra Examples

• He split the log into several pieces.
• On January 1 1993, Czechoslovakia formally split into two independent states.
• Plastic splits quite easily.
• Which scientist first split the atom?
• I was put to work splitting wood for the fire.
2. to divide something into two or more parts and share it between different people, activities, etc.
• SEE ALSO split something up
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/split-up
• She split the money she won with her brother.
• The two men agreed to split the proceeds.
• We share a house and split all the bills.
• His time is split between the London and Paris offices.

Extra Examples

• Four of us live here and we split all the bills four ways.
• The profit will be split three ways.
• The cost has been split equally between three countries.
• She splits her time between Madrid and Washington.
3. to divide, or to make a group of people divide, into smaller groups that have very different opinions
• The committee split over government subsidies.
• His candidacy split the Republican vote.
• The sect split from the Mormon church more than a hundred years ago.
• The party is deeply split on this issue.
• The poll found the public evenly split on the issue.
• The community was split down the middle on this.

Extra Examples

• The party finally split over the issue of gun control.
• Several factions split from the party.
4. to tear, or to make something tear, along a straight line
• Her dress had split along the seam.
• Don't tell me you've split another pair of pants!
• The cushion split open and sent feathers everywhere.
• He split the packet open and poured out a handful of peanuts.

Extra Examples

• The ripe seed pod splits open and scatters the seeds.
• The lid had split down the middle.
5. to cut somebody’s skin and make it bleed
• She split her head open on the cupboard door.
• She fell downstairs and split her head open.
• How did you split your lip?
6. to leave somebody and stop having a relationship with them
• SEE ALSO split up (with somebody)
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/split-up
• The singer split with his wife last June.
• She intends to split from the band at the end of the tour.
7. to leave a place quickly
• Let's split!
8. (when discussing a price, etc.) to agree on an amount that is at an equal distance between the two amounts that have been suggested
• I offered €200 but he wanted €300. In the end, we split the difference and I paid him €250.
• I wanted to leave early and Ian wanted to leave late, so we split the difference and left at noon.
9. to divide something into two equal parts; to divide into two equal parts
• The country was split down the middle over the strike (= half supported it, half did not).
• Divide the cake down the middle.
• It would seem the community has divided down the middle, with some favouring expansion and some dead set against it.
10. to pay too much attention in an argument to differences that are very small and not important
11. to place an adverb between ‘to’ and the infinitive of a verb, for example to say ‘to strongly deny the report’. Some people consider this to be bad English style.
12. to laugh a lot at somebody/something
13. to vote for candidates from more than one party

Word Origin

• late 16th cent. (originally in the sense ‘break up a ship’, describing the force of a storm or rock): from Middle Dutch splitten, of unknown ultimate origin.