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being or causing something to .
violent or severe, as a headache.
very fast or rapid.
Usually, splittings. a part or fragment that has been off from something:
Some cavemen made their smaller tools from the splittings of stone.
to divide or separate from end to end or into layers:
to split a log in two.
to separate by cutting, chopping, etc., usually lengthwise:
to split a piece from a block.
to tear or break apart; rend or burst:
The wind split the sail.
to divide into distinct parts or portions (often followed by up):
We split up our rations.
to separate (a part) by such division.
to divide (persons) into different groups, factions, parties, etc., as by discord:
to split a political party.
to separate (a group, family, etc.) by such division.
to cast (a ballot or vote) for candidates of more than one political party.
to divide between two or more persons, groups, etc.; share:
We split a bottle of wine.
to separate into parts by interposing something:
to split an infinitive.
Physics, Chemistry. to divide (molecules or atoms) by cleavage into smaller parts.
to issue additional shares of (stock) without charge to existing stockholders, thereby dividing their interest into a larger number of shares and reducing the price per share.
Slang. leave; depart from:
Let’s split this scene.
to divide, break, or part lengthwise:
The board split in half.
to part, divide, or separate in any way (often followed by up):
The group of children split up into two teams. We’ll split up here and meet later.
to break asunder, as a ship by striking on a rock.
to become separated, as a piece or part from a whole.
to part or separate, as through disagreement; sever relations:
They split up after a year of marriage. He split with the company after a policy dispute.
to divide or share something with another or others; apportion.
Slang. to leave; depart.
the act of splitting.
a crack, tear, or fissure caused by splitting.
a piece or part separated by or as by splitting.
a breach or rupture, as between persons, in a party or organization, etc.
a faction, party, etc., formed by a rupture or schism.
an ice-cream dish made from sliced fruit, usually a banana, and ice cream, and covered with syrup and nuts.
Also called, especially British, nip. a bottle for wine or, sometimes, another beverage, containing from 6 to 6½ ounces (170 to 184 grams).
a bottle, as of soda, liquor, etc., which is half the usual size.
a strip split from an osier, used in basketmaking.
Masonry. a brick of normal length and breadth but of half normal thickness, used to give level support to a course of bricks laid over one not level.
Often, splits. the feat of separating the legs while sinking to the floor, until they extend at right angles to the body, as in stage performances or gymnastics.
Bowling. an arrangement of the pins remaining after the first bowl in two separated groups, so that a spare is difficult.
Philately. (def 5).
one of the layers of leather into which a skin is cut.
the act of splitting a stock.
that has undergone splitting; parted lengthwise; cleft.
disunited; divided:
a split opinion.
(of a stock quotation) given in sixteenths instead of eighths of a point.
(of a stock) having undergone a split.
split hairs. (def 11).
split the difference. (def 13).
Contemporary Examples

In personal finance, for example, Blekko held its own, splitting the category evenly with Google and leaving Bing shut out.
Testing the New Google Killer Thomas E. Weber November 2, 2010

What will happen now that unique Keith and flailing Current are splitting up?
Keith Olbermann’s Firing at Current TV Could Be his Ruin or his Salvation Rebecca Dana March 29, 2012

But with Santorum and Gingrich splitting the hard-core conservative vote, Romney, that was enough to make it a horse race.
Rick Santorum Whistling Dixie With Projected Wins in Alabama and Mississippi Primaries Howard Kurtz March 13, 2012

Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez are splitting up, and now come the questions: Was he too “ugly” for his beautiful wife?
The Ugly Husbands Club Tony Doukopil July 28, 2011

Yes, on June 28, News Corp. announced that it would be splitting into two companies and that Murdoch would chair both of them.
8 Questions and Answers About Rupert Murdoch’s Resignation Matthew Zeitlin July 21, 2012

Historical Examples

Down this valley, splitting the city in half, meanders the River Meuse.
Italy at War and the Allies in the West E. Alexander Powell

Do not speak so loud, for fear of splitting open the head of Mr. Argan.
The Imaginary Invalid Molire

“It’s the meanest thing out,—that splitting on a pal,” said the man who had been called Michael.
The Landleaguers Anthony Trollope

“I am sorely afraid of this splitting up the forces,” said Meek, doubtfully.
Roland Cashel Charles James Lever

This is not produced, as is an additional finger found in the White Whale or Beluga, by a splitting of a finger.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia Frank Evers Beddard

adjective
(of a headache) intolerably painful; acute
(of the head) assailed by an overpowering unbearable pain
noun
(psychoanal) the Freudian defence mechanism in which an object or idea (or, alternatively, the ego) is separated into two or more parts in order to remove its threatening meaning
verb splits, splitting, split
to break or cause to break, esp forcibly, by cleaving into separate pieces, often into two roughly equal pieces: to split a brick
to separate or be separated from a whole: he split a piece of wood from the block
to separate or be separated into factions, usually through discord
(often foll by up) to separate or cause to separate through a disagreement
when tr, often foll by up. to divide or be divided among two or more persons: split up the pie among the three of us
(slang) to depart; leave: let’s split, we split the scene
(transitive) to separate (something) into its components by interposing something else: to split a word with hyphens
(slang) (intransitive) usually foll by on. to betray the trust, plans, etc (of); inform: he split on me to the cops
(transitive) (US, politics) to mark (a ballot, etc) so as to vote for the candidates of more than one party: he split the ticket
(transitive) to separate (an animal hide or skin) into layers
split hairs, to make a fine but needless distinction
split one’s sides, to laugh very heartily
split the difference

to settle a dispute by effecting a compromise in which both sides give way to the same extent
to divide a remainder equally

noun
the act or process of splitting
a gap or rift caused or a piece removed by the process of splitting
a breach or schism in a group or the faction resulting from such a breach
a dessert of sliced fruit and ice cream, covered with whipped cream, nuts, etc: banana split
See Devonshire split

a separated layer of an animal hide or skin other than the outer layer
leather made from such a layer

(tenpin bowling) a formation of the pins after the first bowl in which there is a large gap between two pins or groups of pins
(informal) an arrangement or process of dividing up loot or money
adjective
having been split; divided: split logs
having a split or splits: hair with split ends
noun
a port and resort in W Croatia on the Adriatic: remains of the palace of Diocletian (295–305). Pop: 188 000 (2005 est) Italian name Spalato
v.

1580s, from Middle Dutch splitten, from Proto-Germanic *spl(e)it- (cf. Danish and Frisian splitte, Old Frisian splita, German spleißen “to split”), from PIE *(s)plei- “to split, splice” (see flint).

Meaning “leave, depart” first recorded 1954, U.S. slang. Of couples, “to separate, divorce” from 1942. To split the difference is from 1715; to split (one’s) ticket in the U.S. political sense is attested from 1842. Splitting image “exact likeness” is from 1880. Split screen is from 1953; split shift is from 1955; split personality first attested 1919. Split-level as a type of building plan is recorded from 1952. Split-second first attested 1884, in reference to a type of stopwatch with two second hands that could be stopped independently; adjectival meaning “occurring in a fraction of a second” is from 1946.
n.

1861 as the name of the acrobatic feat, from split (v.). Meaning “sweet dish of sliced fruit with ice cream” is attested from 1920, American English.

splitting split·ting (splĭt’ĭng)
n.
The chemical change in which a covalent bond in a molecule is cleaved, producing two or more simpler fragments.

split (splĭt)
v. split, split·ting, splits

To divide from end to end or along the grain by or as if by a sharp blow; tear.

To break, burst, or rip apart with force; rend.

To separate; disunite.

To break apart or divide a chemical compound into simpler constituents.

noun

A marijuana cigarette: Smoking a spliff of high-octane chronic

Related Terms

english spliff

[1936+ Narcotics; a West Indian term]