pick apart
phrasal verb
picked apart; picking apart; picks apart
chiefly US
: to say all of the things that are bad or wrong about (someone or something) : to criticize (a person or thing) in a very detailed and usually unkind way
You can expect political analysts to pick apart the governor's speech.
The film's critics picked his performance apart.
Examples of pick apart in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
More will be revealed (and picked apart by diehards) in due time.
—
Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Life, to him, was meant to be lived — not picked apart.
—Stacey Lee, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
Critics, though, still found a way to pick apart the reality star.
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
The team with the longest active postseason streak was picked apart and forced further out of the postseason picture by the team with the longest active postseason drought.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pick apart
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Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Life, to him, was meant to be lived — not picked apart.
—Stacey Lee, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
Critics, though, still found a way to pick apart the reality star.
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
The team with the longest active postseason streak was picked apart and forced further out of the postseason picture by the team with the longest active postseason drought.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pick apart
Cite this Entry
“Pick apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pick%20apart. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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