split Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun extending the legs at right angles to the trunk (one in front and the other in back)
  2. noun a bottle containing half the usual amount
  3. noun a promised or claimed share of loot or money
    • he demanded his split before they disbanded
  4. noun a lengthwise crack in wood
    • he inserted the wedge into a split in the log
  5. noun an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart
    tear; rent; rip; snag.
    • there was a rip in his pants
    • she had snags in her stockings
  6. noun an old Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea
  7. noun a dessert of sliced fruit and ice cream covered with whipped cream and cherries and nuts
  8. noun (tenpin bowling) a divided formation of pins left standing after the first bowl
    • he was winning until he got a split in the tenth frame
  9. noun an increase in the number of outstanding shares of a corporation without changing the shareholders' equity
    stock split; split up.
    • they announced a two-for-one split of the common stock
  10. noun the act of rending or ripping or splitting something
    rent; rip.
    • he gave the envelope a vigorous rip
  11. noun division of a group into opposing factions
    schism.
    • another schism like that and they will wind up in bankruptcy
  12. verb separate into parts or portions
    divide; separate; split up; carve up; dissever.
    • divide the cake into three equal parts
    • The British carved up the Ottoman Empire after World War I
  13. verb separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    rive; cleave.
    • cleave the bone
  14. verb discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
    break; break up; separate; split up; part.
    • The business partners broke over a tax question
    • The couple separated after 25 years of marriage
    • My friend and I split up
  15. verb go one's own way; move apart
    part; separate.
    • The friends separated after the party
  16. verb come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
    break open; burst.
    • The bubble burst
  17. adjective satellite having been divided; having the unity destroyed
    disunited; fragmented; disconnected.
    • Congress...gave the impression of...a confusing sum of disconnected local forces"-Samuel Lubell
    • a league of disunited nations"- E.B.White
    • a fragmented coalition
    • a split group
  18. adjective satellite (especially of wood) cut or ripped longitudinally with the grain
    • we bought split logs for the fireplace

WordNet

Split transitive verb
Etymology
Probably of Scand. or Low german origin; cf. Dan. splitte, LG. splitten, OD. splitten, spletten, D. splijten, G. spleissen, MHG. splizen. Cf. Splice, Splint, Splinter.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Split (Splitted, R ); present participle & verbal noun Splitting
Definitions
  1. To divide lengthwise; to separate from end to end, esp. by force; to divide in the direction of the grain layers; to rive; to cleave; as, to split a piece of timber or a board; to split a gem; to split a sheepskin.
    Cold winter split the rocks in twain. Dryden.
  2. To burst; to rupture; to rend; to tear asunder.
    A huge vessel of exceeding hard marble split asunder by congealed water. Boyle.
  3. To divide or break up into parts or divisions, as by discord; to separate into parts or parties, as a political party; to disunite. Colloq. South.
  4. (Chem.) To divide or separate into components; -- often used with up; as, to split up sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid.
Split intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To part asunder; to be rent; to burst; as, vessels split by the freezing of water in them.
  2. To be broken; to be dashed to pieces.
    The ship splits on the rock. Shak.
  3. To separate into parties or factions. Colloq.
  4. To burst with laughter. Colloq.
    Each had a gravity would make you split. Pope.
  5. To divulge a secret; to betray confidence; to peach. Slang Thackeray.
Split adjective
Definitions
  1. Divided; cleft.
  2. (Bot.) Divided deeply; cleft.

Webster 1913