division: Meaning and Definition of

di•vi•sion

Pronunciation: (di-vizh'un), [key]
— n.
  1. the act or process of dividing; state of being divided.
  2. the operation inverse to multiplication; the finding of a quantity, the quotient, that when multiplied by a given quantity, the divisor, gives another given quantity, the dividend; the process of ascertaining how many times one number or quantity is contained in another.
  3. something that divides or separates; partition.
  4. something that marks a division; dividing line or mark.
  5. one of the parts into which a thing is divided; section.
  6. separation by difference of opinion or feeling; disagreement; dissension.
  7. the separation of a legislature, or the like, into two groups, in taking a vote.
  8. one of the parts into which a country or an organization is divided for political, judicial, military, or other purposes.
    1. (in the army) a major administrative and tactical unit, larger than a regiment or brigade and smaller than a corps: it is usually commanded by a major general.
    2. (in the navy) a number of ships, usually four, forming a tactical group that is part of a fleet or squadron.
  9. a major autonomous or semi-independent but subordinate administrative unit of an industrial enterprise, government bureau, transportation system, or university: the sales division of our company; the Division of Humanities.
  10. (in sports) a category or class containing all the teams or competitors grouped together according to standing, skill, weight, age, or the like: a team in the first division; the heavyweight division in boxing.
  11. a major primary subdivision of the plant kingdom, consisting of one or more classes; plant phylum.
  12. any subdivision of a classificatory group or category.
  13. a type of propagation in which new plants are grown from segments separated from the parent plant.
  14. the ornamentation of a melodic line in 17th- and 18th-century music.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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