To split means to divide or separate something into parts. When you split a cookie with a friend, you break it into two pieces so you can each have some. Wood splits along its grain when you chop it with an axe. A banana splits down the middle when you peel it. The word captures that moment when one thing becomes two or more.

In mathematics, splitting works similarly: if you split 20 marbles equally among four friends, each person gets 5. When friends split the cost of a gift, they each pay their share. You might split your study time between two subjects, giving each one half your attention.

The word also describes cracks or breaks: a split in a fence board, a split lip from a fall, or a road that splits into two paths heading in different directions. When something splits open, it breaks apart suddenly, like a watermelon dropped on the ground.

People use split for groups too. When a team splits up to search for something, they go in different directions to cover more ground. Friends might split up when they disagree and stop spending time together.

The phrase split the difference means compromising by meeting in the middle. If you want to leave at 3:00 and your brother wants to leave at 5:00, you might split the difference and leave at 4:00.