bifurcate

verb

bi·​fur·​cate ˈbī-(ˌ)fər-ˌkāt  bī-ˈfər- 

bifurcated; bifurcating

transitive verb

: to cause to divide into two branches or parts

bifurcate a beam of light

intransitive verb

: to divide into two branches or parts

The stream bifurcates into two narrow channels.

bifurcate

(ˌ)bī-ˈfər-kət  -ˌkāt  ˈbī-(ˌ)fər-ˌkāt 

adjective

Did you know?

Yogi Berra, the baseball great who was noted for his head-scratching quotes, is purported to have said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Berra's advice might not offer much help when you're making tough decisions in life, but perhaps it will help you remember bifurcate. A road that bifurcates splits in two, like the one in Berra's adage. Other things can bifurcate (or be bifurcated) as well, such as an organization that splits, or is split, into two factions. Bifurcate comes from the Latin adjective bifurcus, meaning "two-pronged," a combination of the prefix bi- ("two") and the noun furca ("fork"). Furca, as you may have guessed, is also an ancestor of fork, which refers to the handy utensil that can (in a pinch) help us—as Berra might say—to cut our pizza in four pieces when we're not hungry enough to eat six.

Examples of bifurcate in a Sentence

The stream bifurcated into two narrow winding channels.

bifurcate a beam of light

Recent Examples on the Web

That edge is somewhat novel in Star Wars’s universe of smugglers, which typically feels bifurcated between scoundrels with a heart of gold and petty criminals who are rarely more than their base nature. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 19 June 2024

One example is the need to bifurcate amounts into pre-2020 and post-2020 amounts. —Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024

So the market has bifurcated, with roughly half of buyers preferring something perfect from a lab, and the other half still preferring something that maybe has romantic flaws. —Felix Salmon, Axios, 12 Oct. 2024

Financial Services Lennar’s Financial Services operations are bifurcated through functionality in Residential Mortgage Financing, Title, Insurance & Closing Services and Commercial Mortgage Origination. —Joe Cornell, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin bifurcatus, past participle of bifurcare, from Latin bifurcus two-pronged, from bi- + furca fork

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

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Medical Definition

bifurcate

intransitive verb

bi·​fur·​cate ˈbī-(ˌ)fər-ˌkāt  bī-ˈfər- 

bifurcated; bifurcating

: to divide into two branches or parts

bifurcate

(ˈ)bī-ˈfər-kət  -ˌkāt; ˈbī-(ˌ)fər-ˌkāt 

adjective

or bifurcated

-ˌkāt-əd 

bifurcation

ˌbī-(ˌ)fər-ˈkā-shən 

noun