Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - divide up

1. If you divide something up, you separate it into smaller or more useful groups. The idea is to divide up the country into four sectors... The Trust needs a new law to divide it up into smaller bodies. = split up PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron) into pl-n, V n P into pl-n 2. If you divide something up, you share it out among a number of people or groups in approximately equal parts. The aim was to divide up the business, give everyone an equal stake in its future. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)