partitioning

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The act of dividing a space, territory or system into separate parts.

   Grammar: No plural: the partitioning of the country.

   Patterns

   • the partitioning of something
   • partitioning into something

   The partitioning of the country led to years of conflict.

   The architect suggested partitioning the large room to create a small office.

   The partitioning of the old warehouse was done with simple wooden walls.

2. 2noununcountablecomputing

   The division of a hard drive or storage device into separate sections that act like independent drives.

   Grammar: Often with disk or drive: disk partitioning.

   Patterns

   • disk partitioning
   • partitioning a drive

   Partitioning the drive lets you run two operating systems on one computer.

   Disk partitioning software can resize sections without losing files.

   He learned about partitioning before installing the new system.

3. 3verbtransitive

   Present participle of partition: dividing something into parts or separating it with a wall or barrier.

   Grammar: Takes an object: partitioning the room.

   Patterns

   • partitioning something off
   • partitioning something into something

   They are partitioning the garage into two workspaces.

   She spent the weekend partitioning off a corner of the loft.

Word forms

Common combinations

disk partitioning

Disk partitioning is useful when setting up a new laptop.

partitioning of a country

The partitioning of the country was decided by treaty.

partitioning a room

Partitioning a room with shelves is cheap and quick.

partitioning scheme

Choose a partitioning scheme before you format the disk.

partitioning wall

A partitioning wall separates the two offices.

Synonyms and how they differ

division

Division is the general word for splitting anything into parts, while partitioning suggests creating clear, separate sections.

separation

Separation emphasizes keeping things apart, not necessarily cutting a whole into defined parts.

segmentation

Segmentation is more technical and is often used in marketing and imaging, with parts defined by shared features.

splitting

Splitting is informal and can describe breaking something into any number of unequal parts.

Opposites

Word family

partition verb

to divide into parts

partition noun

a dividing wall, or a division of a country

partitioned adjective

divided into sections

repartition verb

to divide again, especially a disk

Commonly confused: partitioning or petitioning?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “partitioning”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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