PARTITION

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does partition mean? 

• PARTITION (noun)
  The noun PARTITION has 4 senses:

1. a vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another)

2. (computer science) the part of a hard disk that is dedicated to a particular operating system or application and accessed as a single unit

3. (anatomy) a structure that separates areas in an organism

4. the act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart

  Familiarity information: PARTITION used as a noun is uncommon.

• PARTITION (verb)
  The verb PARTITION has 2 senses:

1. divide into parts, pieces, or sections

2. separate or apportion into sections

  Familiarity information: PARTITION used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PARTITION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

divider; partition

Hypernyms ("partition" is a kind of...):

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "partition"):

brattice (a partition (often temporary) of planks or cloth that is used to control ventilation in a mine)

bulkhead (a partition that divides a ship or plane into compartments)

screen (partition consisting of a decorative frame or panel that serves to divide a space)

wall (an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure)

Derivation:

partition (separate or apportion into sections)

partition (divide into parts, pieces, or sections)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(computer science) the part of a hard disk that is dedicated to a particular operating system or application and accessed as a single unit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("partition" is a kind of...):

computer memory unit (a unit for measuring computer memory)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(anatomy) a structure that separates areas in an organism

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("partition" is a kind of...):

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

Domain category:

anatomy; general anatomy (the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "partition"):

septum ((anatomy) a dividing partition between two tissues or cavities)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

division; partition; partitioning; sectionalisation; sectionalization; segmentation

Hypernyms ("partition" is a kind of...):

separation (the act of dividing or disconnecting)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "partition"):

subdivision (the act of subdividing; division of something previously divided)

septation (the division or partitioning of a cavity into parts by a septum)

zoning (dividing an area into zones or sections reserved for different purposes such as residence and business and manufacturing etc)

Derivation:

partition (separate or apportion into sections)

partition (divide into parts, pieces, or sections)

partitionist (an advocate of partitioning a country)

• PARTITION (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they partition    ... he / she / it partitions   
Past simple: partitioned   
Past participle: partitioned   
-ing form: partitioning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Divide into parts, pieces, or sections

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

partition; partition off

Context example:

The Arab peninsula was partitioned by the British

Hypernyms (to "partition" is one way to...):

divide; part; separate (come apart)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "partition"):

pound; pound off (partition off into compartments)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

partition (the act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart)

partition (a vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another))

partitioning (the act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart)

partitionist (an advocate of partitioning a country)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Separate or apportion into sections

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

partition; zone

Context example:

partition a room off

Hypernyms (to "partition" is one way to...):

divide; separate (make a division or separation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "partition"):

screen off; separate off (partition by means of a divider, such as a screen)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

partition (the act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart)

partition (a vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another))

partitioning (the act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart)

 Context examples 

A thin sheet or layer of pliable tissue, serving as a covering or envelope of a part, as the lining of a cavity, as a partition or septum, or to connect two structures.

(Membrane, NCI Thesaurus)

Cluster analysis that uses stepwise partitioning of objects.

(Hierarchical Clustering, NCI Thesaurus)

A device consisting of a flexible sheet or partition.

(Device Diaphragm Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

A classification algorithm based on the robust classification method called partitioning around medoids.

(Modified Partitioning Around Medoids, NCI Thesaurus)

Cell partitioning techniques used to determine the subcellular distribution of molecules of interest.

(Cellular Compartment Analysis, NCI Thesaurus)

The landlord in his shirt-sleeves, leaning against the bar window-frame; his wife looking over the little half-door; and I, in some confusion, looking up at them from outside the partition.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It was very necessary to move silently now, since I was within a few feet of my man, with only the thin wooden partition between.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

One of a set of ordered partitions of an experimental unit's participation in a study.

(Clinical Trial Epoch, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)

This allele, which encodes partitioning defective 6 homolog alpha protein, plays a role in asymmetrical cell division and cell polarization processes.

(PARD6A wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

The organization of chromatin into loops permits the partitioning of chromatin into topologically independent domains, and is thought to facilitate its compartmentation into functionally independent regions.

(Chromatin Loop, NCI Thesaurus)