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
Much like his comments on Israel, Mamdani’s past statements on the police have been obsessively picked apart by his detractors—a key difference is that managing the cops is an everyday part of the mayor’s job.
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Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
The heated debate around the City Hall Project and picking apart the budget were two experiences in particular that frustrated Nguyen.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2025
Swiftian numerology is all over—one fan picked apart individual promo photos to interrogate why a tiny image within the image shows Swift standing next to two exit signs instead of one.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2025
Almost immediately after going to the Şengün-Adams lineup for the first time, the Rockets shifted into a zone defense that the Hawks were able to pick apart too often by making simple passes.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pick apart
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Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
The heated debate around the City Hall Project and picking apart the budget were two experiences in particular that frustrated Nguyen.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2025
Swiftian numerology is all over—one fan picked apart individual promo photos to interrogate why a tiny image within the image shows Swift standing next to two exit signs instead of one.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2025
Almost immediately after going to the Şengün-Adams lineup for the first time, the Rockets shifted into a zone defense that the Hawks were able to pick apart too often by making simple passes.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
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 18 Oct. 2025.
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