take apart

verb

took apart; taken apart; taking apart; takes apart

transitive verb

1

: to disconnect the pieces of (something) : disassemble

take a machine apart

While the giant engines at the Waterworks were being taken apart piece by piece and examined for damage, temporary sources of power were sought.

—Jim Murphy

2

informal : to treat (someone or something) roughly or harshly : to tear into

The voice in his head that normally took him apart was cutting him some slack. Every now and then, it actually gave him some credit.

—David Corbett

Examples of take apart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Time took apart the mountains, and rain dissolved most of the minerals in them, but the quartz remained. —Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024

The demand for mechanics who can take apart the battery pack and repair a dead cell has vastly outstripped supply. —Bradley Brownell / Jalopnik, Quartz, 1 May 2024

Instead of being able to remove and replace individual switches, any modification would involve taking apart the entire keyboard. —Henri Robbins, WIRED, 7 Sep. 2024

The old building logo was taken apart to create side tables, while disused seating and other objects were upcycled to become iconic artwork and furniture pieces such as the ladder and newspaper chairs. —Emma Kershaw, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1