partition
gb/pɑɹtˈɪʃən/ us/pɑɹtˈɪʃən/
B2
English
~ 8300
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B2
entity
1
interior wall or screen divider
A wall or screen inside a room or building that separates one area from another area.
Usage pattern:
a partition between [places]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "partition" with "portion". A *partition* is something that divides space, while a *portion* is a part or amount of something (like food).
Synonyms
divider (General word for something that separates spaces, not always a fixed wall.)
|
screen (Usually suggests a lighter, movable partition, often not reaching the ceiling.)
Antonyms
opening (Suggests a space that connects areas instead of separating them.)
Collocations
glass partition
|office partition
|wooden partition
|partition wall
|temporary partition
|sliding partition
Themes
homes
|construction
|workplace
|housing
Examples
- The office installed a glass partition to create a separate meeting area.
- We put up a temporary partition to divide the large hall into two smaller rooms.
- A wooden partition runs down the middle of the classroom, separating the younger and older students.
- They removed the partition to make the kitchen and living room one big open space.
Learner examples
- There is a glass partition between the kitchen and the dining room.
- The company added a partition to make two offices from one big room.
- We took down the partition to make the room bigger.
- He hid behind the partition during the surprise party.
unknown
B2
action
2
divide something into separate parts
To divide something into different parts or areas, often by putting walls, screens, or legal borders between them.
Usage pattern:
to partition [something] into [number] parts
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say "separate the room" when they specifically mean adding walls. "Separate" is general, but "partition" usually suggests dividing with a wall, screen, or official border. Also, "partition" is not used for breaking objects into pieces like glass; in that case, "break" or "smash" is correct.
Synonyms
divide (Very general and common; does not specifically suggest walls or political/official borders.)
|
split up (More informal; often used for separating groups or things, less formal than "partition".)
Antonyms
unify (Focuses on bringing separate parts together into one whole, the opposite of dividing them.)
|
merge (Stresses combining things into one, especially areas, organizations, or systems.)
Collocations
partition the room
|partition the space
|partition the hard drive
|partition the country
|partition the land
|partition an estate
Themes
construction
|politics
|law
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- They plan to partition the large office into smaller individual workspaces.
- After the war, the victors decided to partition the country into three separate zones.
- We partitioned the garden into sections for vegetables, flowers, and herbs.
- The IT team will partition the server to keep test data separate from live data.
Learner examples
- We want to partition the room to make a small office.
- The country was partitioned into two parts after the war.
- They partitioned the land among the three brothers.
- The company partitioned the big space into many small offices.
Noun
formal
C1
event
3
official division of land or assets
The official act of splitting land, a country, or property into different parts, usually with new borders or different owners.
Usage pattern:
the partition of [land/country/property]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse "partition" (the formal or historical event of dividing land or property) with "separation" in a general emotional or personal sense (like separating from a partner). "Partition" is mainly used for land, countries, or legal property, not for people ending relationships.
Synonyms
division (Very general word for separating something; does not always imply formal legal or political action.)
|
separation (Stresses the state of being apart; "partition" focuses more on the formal act or arrangement creating that separation.)
Antonyms
unification (Refers to bringing separate territories or entities together into one political or legal whole, the opposite process of partition.)
Collocations
the partition of India
|territorial partition
|partition of the country
|partition of property
|partition of the estate
|political partition
Themes
politics
|history
|law
Examples
- Historians still debate the long-term effects of the partition of India.
- The peace agreement called for the partition of the disputed territory along ethnic lines.
- The siblings opposed the partition of the estate and wanted to keep the property together.
- The sudden partition of the country created new borders overnight and displaced millions of people.
Learner examples
- Many people were forced to move after the partition of the country.
- The lawyer explained the rules for the partition of the property.
- The partition of the land caused many problems for local farmers.
- The book describes the partition of the region after the war.
Noun
technical
B2
entity
4
separate section of a disk
One part of a computer’s hard drive or other storage that is separated from the other parts so you can store and manage data there like on a separate disk.
Usage pattern:
a partition on [a disk/device]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse "partition" with "portion" or use general words like "part of the disk". In computing, "partition" is the standard technical term for a defined logical section of storage. Also, a partition is not the same as a single file or folder; it contains many files and folders.
Synonyms
volume (In computing, often refers to a logical storage area; sometimes overlaps with "partition" but can also sit on top of a partition.)
|
logical drive (Technical term for a drive letter or logical unit that may correspond to a partition.)
Antonyms
single volume (Refers to using one undivided storage space instead of multiple partitions.)
Collocations
disk partition
|hard drive partition
|system partition
|boot partition
|create a partition
|resize a partition
Themes
technology
|computing
Examples
- You should create a separate partition for your operating system and your personal files.
- The installer detected an existing Linux partition on the hard drive.
- He accidentally formatted the wrong partition and lost all his data.
- The guide explains how to resize a disk partition without losing information.
Learner examples
- We made a new partition on the hard drive for backups.
- The system files are on a different partition from my photos.
- Be careful not to delete the wrong partition.
- The program can show all the partitions on your computer.
Noun
technical
C2
entity
5
mathematical splitting of a whole
In math, a special way to cut a set or a number into pieces so that the pieces do not share elements and all the pieces together give you the full set or number again.
Usage pattern:
a partition of [a set/number]
Common mistake:
Learners may think "partition" in math is just any way of splitting things. In mathematics, a partition has strict conditions: the parts do not overlap and together they include every element of the original set or match the original number.
Synonyms
decomposition (Technical math term for breaking something into parts; may be broader, not always a strict partition in the formal sense.)
Antonyms
aggregation (General term for combining elements into a whole, the opposite direction of breaking into structured parts.)
Collocations
partition of a set
|integer partition
|set partition
|partition of unity
|equivalence relation partition
Themes
mathematics
|science
|education
Examples
- In this chapter we study the partition of a set into equivalence classes.
- Every equivalence relation on a set induces a unique partition of that set.
- An integer partition writes a number as a sum of positive integers, without regard to order.
- The concept of a partition of unity plays an important role in analysis and geometry.
Learner examples
- The teacher showed an example of a partition of a set.
- Each element belongs to exactly one part in a partition.
- In an integer partition, the order of the numbers does not matter.
- A partition of a set breaks it into smaller non-overlapping groups.
Grammar
Dictionary form
partition
IPA
GB/pɑɹtˈɪʃən/
US/pɑɹtˈɪʃən/
Syllables & stress
par - ti - tion (3 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (ti)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: partition
- Plural: partition, partitions
Word family
Expressions
disk partition
1/dˈɪsk pɑɹtˈɪʃən/
fixed phrase
technical
logical section of a storage disk
One separate part of a computer’s hard drive or other disk that is treated like its own storage area.
Examples
- Before installing the new operating system, he created a new disk partition.
- The tool can list every disk partition on your computer and show how much space is used.
- If the disk partition is corrupted, the data on it may be lost.
partition of a set
1/pɑɹtˈɪʃən əv ə sˈɛt/
fixed phrase
technical
mathematical partition of a set
In math, a way to cut a set into smaller groups so that each element is in exactly one group and all groups together give the whole set.
Examples
- An equivalence relation naturally defines a partition of a set.
- We can represent the partition of a set using disjoint subsets.
- The diagram shows a partition of a set into three classes.
partition of property
1/pɑɹtˈɪʃən əv pɹˈɑpɚti/
fixed phrase
formal
legal division of shared property
The legal process of splitting property that many people own together into separate parts for each owner.
Examples
- The lawyer advised them to seek a court-ordered partition of property.
- Disputes often arise during the partition of property after a divorce.
- The law sets clear rules for the partition of property among heirs.
partition wall
1/pɑɹtˈɪʃən wˈɔl/
fixed phrase
interior wall that divides space
A light interior wall used to divide a room or building into smaller areas.
Examples
- They installed a partition wall to create a separate bedroom in the studio apartment.
- The architect suggested removing the partition wall to make the living space more open.
- A glass partition wall lets in more light while still separating the offices.