SEPARATING

Act as a barrier between; stand between

Example: "The mountain range divides the two countries"

Force, take, or pull apart

Example: "He separated the fighting children"

Mark as different

Example: "We distinguish several kinds of maple"

Separate into parts or portions

Example: "Divide the cake into three equal parts"

Divide into components or constituents

Example: "Separate the wheat from the chaff"

Arrange or order by classes or categories

Example: "How would you classify these pottery shards--are they prehistoric?"

Make a division or separation

Discontinue an association or relation; go different ways

Example: "The business partners broke over a tax question"

Go one's own way; move apart

Example: "The friends separated after the party"

Become separated into pieces or fragments

Example: "The figurine broke"

Treat differently on the basis of sex or race

Move or break apart

Example: "The two pieces that we had glued separated"

Divide into two or more branches so as to form a fork

Example: "The road forks"