carve-up
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
The distribution of something, as of money or booty.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
In the colonial carve-up that followed, lines were drawn between the port cities of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and the island of Zanzibar.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “carve-up” mean?
The distribution of something, as of money or booty.
Is “carve-up” formal or informal?
carve-up is generally slang.