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
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
But that depiction was picked apart by a vast array of online onlookers, from law enforcement experts to ordinary Instagram users, some of whom replayed the videos frame by frame and zoomed in to show the episode in frightening detail.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
Its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival brought a rousing ovation — maybe that metric does hold some water — and mixed reviews that picked apart the film’s pacing and characterization and the audacity of ending with a Lord Bryon quote over one from Shelley.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026
Senior State’s Attorney Russell Zentner spent hours in Rockville Superior Court trying to pick apart the legal opinion of Michael Fitzpatrick.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pick apart
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Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
But that depiction was picked apart by a vast array of online onlookers, from law enforcement experts to ordinary Instagram users, some of whom replayed the videos frame by frame and zoomed in to show the episode in frightening detail.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
Its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival brought a rousing ovation — maybe that metric does hold some water — and mixed reviews that picked apart the film’s pacing and characterization and the audacity of ending with a Lord Bryon quote over one from Shelley.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026
Senior State’s Attorney Russell Zentner spent hours in Rockville Superior Court trying to pick apart the legal opinion of Michael Fitzpatrick.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 13 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 1 Feb. 2026.
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