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

Construction crews working on a new helipad at the White House have taken apart the massive granite seal that would serve as the new landing spot for Marine One, signaling potential delays in the project. — ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026

The eminently Instagrammable viral burns of the protesters were deliberate, taking apart and inverting each element of Modi’s political brand. — Asim Ali, Time, 1 Aug. 2026

Two people take apart the same customer service initiative in the same meeting. — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

The set creates a good seal while remaining easy to take apart—even after creating high pressure by dry shaking egg whites. — Justine Sterling, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for take apart

• art
• cart
• carte
• chart
• dart
• fart
• haart
• mart
• part
• smart
• start
• tart