hive off

USAGE SUMMARY

"hive off" is an idiomatic phrase used in written English.
It means to transfer part of something to a new organization or owner. Example sentence: Our company decided to hive off a few key assets to a new subsidiary.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

But the new managers could also hive off some peripheral assets.

The Economist

The only real answer is to hive off the incumbent's network.

The Economist

Many investors speculate that Time Warner may hive off parts of itself.

The New York Times

It ended up being true as students' parents hive off nearly half of their salaries to pay for higher education.

Independent

With the split, the food maker will hive off its North American grocery business from the global snacks group.

The New York Times

The industry's giants will not be broken up, forced to shrink or made to hive off their investment banks.

The Economist

They also have less incentive to hive off loans, because their capital is guaranteed by the state.

The Economist

It has forced ENI, a partially state-owned energy group, to hive off the gas network it controls.

The Economist

A new company, Shelfco, was set up, to hive off the prospective long-haul Monarch and its costly Boeing orders.

The Guardian - Business

The objective should be to hive off the elements ill served by a sham regime and collapsed economy.

The New York Times

He hoped to hive off the Standard and buy it himself, but was unable to afford it.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "hive off" when you want to describe the act of transferring a specific part of a company or organization to a new, often independent entity. It's suitable for formal contexts like business reports and news articles.

Common error

Avoid using "hive off" interchangeably with general terms like "remove" or "eliminate". "Hive off" specifically implies creating a separate entity or transferring ownership, not simply getting rid of something.

Linguistic Context

The phrasal verb "hive off" functions as a transitive verb, requiring an object to complete its meaning. It describes the action of separating a portion of a business or organization to create a new, independent entity. This aligns with Ludwig AI's assessment of its grammatical correctness.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

70%

Formal & Business

25%

Science

5%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrasal verb "hive off" is a common and grammatically sound expression, primarily used in news and business contexts to describe the separation of a portion of a company or organization into a new entity. According to Ludwig, the phrase functions as a transitive verb and serves to inform or explain strategic business decisions. Its usage is generally neutral to professional. While alternatives like ""spin off"" and "divest" exist, "hive off" carries a specific connotation of creating a separate, often independent, entity. Understanding its nuances is crucial for effective communication in business and financial reporting.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

spin off

Refers to creating a new independent company from a division or subsidiary of a parent company.

divest

Implies selling off assets or a business unit.

separate out

Focuses on the act of making something distinct or independent.

carve out

Suggests creating a distinct entity or segment from a larger whole.

detach

Emphasizes removing something from its connection.

break away

Suggests a more forceful or independent separation.

split off

Highlights the action of dividing and creating a separate part.

segregate

Focuses on the separation of different elements within a group.

extract

Indicates removing a specific component or part.

isolate

Highlights making something separate and distinct, often for a specific purpose.

FAQs

How to use "hive off" in a sentence?

You can use "hive off" to describe a company's decision to separate a division or assets. For example, "The company decided to "spin off" its software division to focus on hardware."

What's the difference between "hive off" and "spin off"?

"Hive off" generally means to separate something, while ""spin off"" specifically refers to creating an independent company from a division of a parent company. "Spin off" is a more specific instance of "hive off".

What can I say instead of "hive off"?

You can use alternatives like "divest", "separate out", or "carve out" depending on the specific context you wish to convey.

Which is correct, "hive off" or "hived off"?

"Hive off" is the base form, used in present tense or as an infinitive. "Hived off" is the past tense and past participle. For example, "The company will hive off its subsidiary next year." vs. "The company "spun off" its subsidiary last year."