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
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All of this in service to no real objective other than taking apart the federal government from within. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 5 June 2025 The recognizable beat plays as two muscled dudes take apart the front room of a two-story house. Bob Verini, Variety, 4 June 2025 And the base station is easy to take apart for tray cleaning. New Atlas, 10 May 2025 Rollins took apart the announce table to prepare for a Shield Bomb. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for take apart

Word History

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of take apart was in 1744

Cite this Entry

“Take apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20apart. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.

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