pull apart
phrasal verb
pulled apart; pulling apart; pulls apart
1
: to be separated into parts or pieces by pulling
The rolls pull apart easily.
2
: to separate or break (something) into parts or pieces
She pulled the rolls apart with her hands.
—sometimes used figurativelyHis gambling problem is pulling the family apart.
3
: to separate (people or animals) in order to stop a fight
Customers stepped in and pulled the two men apart.
Examples of pull apart in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The little pull apart rolls are soft inside, crisp at the edges, and deliciously scrumptious.
—
Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2025
Companies that would otherwise be on the path to a potential initial public offering or lucrative acquisition are getting pulled apart, with the bulk of the cash ending up in the pockets of the founders and their leading engineers.
—Ashley Capoot,salvador Rodriguez,annie Palmer, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2025
The Afar region is an active rifting environment — the tectonic plates beneath its earth are actively pulling apart and exposing older layers of sediment that shed light on almost 5 million years of evolution, Reed said.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2025
Molten rock beneath the crust rose upward, stretching and pulling apart the surface, creating miles-long cracks.
—Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pull apart
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2025
Companies that would otherwise be on the path to a potential initial public offering or lucrative acquisition are getting pulled apart, with the bulk of the cash ending up in the pockets of the founders and their leading engineers.
—Ashley Capoot,salvador Rodriguez,annie Palmer, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2025
The Afar region is an active rifting environment — the tectonic plates beneath its earth are actively pulling apart and exposing older layers of sediment that shed light on almost 5 million years of evolution, Reed said.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2025
Molten rock beneath the crust rose upward, stretching and pulling apart the surface, creating miles-long cracks.
—Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pull apart
Cite this Entry
“Pull apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pull%20apart. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share