segment
seg·ment • n. / ˈsegmənt/ 1. each of the parts into which something is or may be divided. ∎ a portion of time allocated to a particular broadcast item on radio or television. ∎ a separate broadcast item, typically one of a number that make up a particular program. ∎ Phonet. the smallest distinct part of a spoken utterance, in particular the vowels and consonants as opposed to stress and intonation. ∎ Zool. each of the series of similar anatomical units of which the body and appendages of some animals are composed, such as the visible rings of an earthworm's body.2. Geom. a part of a figure cut off by a line or plane intersecting it, in particular: ∎ the part of a circle enclosed between an arc and a chord. ∎ the part of a line included between two points. ∎ the part of a sphere cut off by any plane not passing through the center.• v. / ˈsegˌment; segˈment/ [tr.] divide (something) into separate parts or sections: the unemployed are segmented into two groups. ∎ [intr.] divide into separate parts or sections: the market is beginning to segment into a number of well-defined categories. ∎ [intr.] Embryology (of a cell) undergo cleavage; divide into many cells.DERIVATIVES: seg·men·tar·y / -ˌterē/ adj.seg·men·ta·tion / ˌsegmənˈtāshən/ n.ORIGIN: late 16th cent. (as a term in geometry): from Latin segmentum, from secare ‘to cut.’ The verb dates from the mid 19th cent.