bridge the divide

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

an idiom meaning to reduce or overcome a significant gap, difference, or separation between people, groups, or positions, using the architectural metaphor of a bridge as a structure that makes passage possible across an otherwise impassable division; the divide being bridged may be ideological, cultural, economic, ethnic, or political, and the phrase implies active construction — bridges do not appear spontaneously but must be designed, built, and maintained; it is commonly used in political rhetoric about reconciliation and social cohesion, in peace education, and in community development contexts where building relationships across lines of difference is both the means and the end of the work; the phrase acknowledges the reality of the division while expressing confidence in the possibility of connection