divide and conquer

Idioms

Also,. Win by getting one's opponents to fight among themselves. For example, Divide and conquer was once a very successful policy in sub-Saharan Africa. This expression is a translation of the Latin maxim, Divide et impera (“divide and rule”), and began to appear in English about 1600.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Time to divide and conquer,” I said, handing one piece to each of the partner groups.

From Literature

This method was a frontal assault on the “divide and conquer” mentality, which used to mean specialization followed by integration.

From The Wall Street Journal

Harris said while some use fear to divide and conquer, the animals demonstrated the power of standing together.

From Los Angeles Times

He and his wife decided they would “divide and conquer.”

From Los Angeles Times

Nikki’s poem “Fear: Eat in or Take Out,” which she read during a 2017 TED Talk, teaches us “to distill fear,” rather than let any powers-that-be persuade us to mix our fear with the hate that empowers them to divide and conquer us all.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023