Partition means to divide something into separate parts or sections. When you partition a room, you might use a folding screen or curtain to split it into two areas. When you partition a hard drive on a computer, you divide it into separate sections that work independently, like creating different drawers in a filing cabinet.

The word often appears in history and geography, where it describes dividing a country or territory into smaller regions. India was partitioned in 1947, splitting into India and Pakistan. Germany was partitioned after World War II, divided into East and West. These partitions created new borders and governments.

A partition can also be the physical object that divides a space, like the thin walls between bathroom stalls or the divider between seats on a train. You might build a partition in your bedroom closet to organize shoes separately from clothes.

When you partition something, you're creating distinct, separate zones where there used to be one unified space. Teachers sometimes partition their classrooms into reading corners and activity areas. The key idea is separation: after the partition, each section functions on its own.