divide it by

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "divide it by" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when you are talking about dividing something. For example, "If you have 50 apples, divide it by 5 to get 10 groups of apples."

✓ Grammatically correct

Wiki

News & Media

Academia

Science

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Square it, then divide it by 2. Take its square root.

WikiHow

The question is, "What do I divide it by?" I cannot divide by Δt.

Yale University

Add the room and board to the personal costs, then divide it by 9 months.

Cornell University

Now take the divisor (12), divide it by the remainder (8), and write the result as 12 = 1 × 8 + 4.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Calculate how much capital a bank has and divide it by the bank's total assets, without any risk weighting.

The New York Times

So take 50K and divide it by ten.

Forbes

Take your company's market cap and divide it by the number of employees.

Forbes

And then we divide it by the 10-year Treasury yield.

Forbes

Then divide it by the rate at which DNA mutates, and presto!

Science Magazine

Deduct the weight of the empty tube and divide it by the number of ants".

BBC

To normalize this, we divide it by the total number of unique packets created.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When providing instructions involving division, always specify the units involved to avoid ambiguity. For example, "Divide the distance in miles by the time in hours to find the speed in miles per hour."

Common error

Avoid dividing before performing other operations within a complex equation unless parentheses indicate otherwise. Always adhere to the order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS) for accurate results.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "divide it by" serves as a verbal phrase indicating the mathematical operation of division. Ludwig examples show its frequent use in instructions and explanations across various domains.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Wiki

41%

News & Media

27%

Academia

5%

Less common in

Science

7%

Encyclopedias

2%

Formal & Business

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "divide it by" is a common and grammatically correct way to express division, as confirmed by Ludwig. It is widely used in various contexts, including Wiki articles, news reports, academic texts, and scientific papers. Ludwig's examples demonstrate its versatility in explaining mathematical procedures and providing step-by-step instructions. When using this phrase, ensure clarity by specifying the units involved and adhering to the correct order of operations. Remember that ""divide it by"" is an active command, distinct from the passive form "divided by". Alternatives like "split it into" and "calculate per" can be used to add variety to your writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

split it into

Focuses on separating a whole into parts, emphasizing the resulting pieces.

divide equally among

Focuses on distributing something fairly among multiple recipients.

portion it out by

Implies distributing something into smaller, equal parts according to a specific factor.

break it down by

Emphasizes simplifying or analyzing something based on a particular factor.

calculate per

Emphasizes finding a rate or amount for each individual unit.

distribute in units of

Implies spreading something out using a specific quantity as the base.

find the ratio to

Highlights the proportional relationship between two quantities.

express as a fraction of

Highlights representing a part of a whole in fractional form.

determine the quotient with

A more formal way to refer to the result of a division operation.

work out the proportion of

Suggests finding how much of a whole each part represents.

FAQs

How do I use "divide it by" in a sentence?

Use "divide it by" when you want to express the action of dividing a quantity by another. For instance, "To find the average, "divide it by" the number of items".

What can I say instead of "divide it by"?

You can use alternatives like "split it into", "calculate per", or "portion it out by" depending on the context.

When is it appropriate to use "divide it by" in writing?

"Divide it by" is appropriate in instructional, mathematical, or explanatory contexts where you need to express a division operation. It is commonly used in recipes, scientific procedures, or financial calculations.

What's the difference between ""divide it by"" and "divided by"?

"Divide it by" is an active command or instruction, while "divided by" is a passive descriptor. For example, "Divide it by 2" is an instruction, whereas "The result is divided by 2" describes a state.