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

In designing the rubble and destruction, Sullivan and Parker dressed and designed the homes before they were taken apart, making sure remnants of people’s lives were as present as the destruction itself. —Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 20 July 2024

They can be taken apart in the winter and packed up during a move. —Sami Sparber, Axios, 20 July 2024

Harden keeps a storage unit and tries to design costumes that can be taken apart so the separate pieces are easier to tuck away. —Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 9 July 2024

The former case manager, Bridgett Warren Campbell, said employees would buy diapers from the local Sam’s Club store, then take apart the packages. —Cassandra Jaramillo, ProPublica, 9 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1