come apart

idiom

variants or come apart at the seams
: to break into parts or pieces : fail or be in very bad condition
This table is coming apart.
an old house that is coming apart at the seams
often used figuratively
a coalition that is coming apart
Their marriage is coming apart at the seams.

Examples of come apart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The report’s timeline of when exactly the program began to come apart is murky. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 The way this process has unfolded is causing the federal bankruptcy system to come apart, harming the plaintiffs and bankrupt entities alike. David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lawrence A. Friedman, WSJ, 4 Jan. 2024 The movie threatens to come apart at the seams a little here with a lot of expositional talk about how all this government of Spider-Men actually works. Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 25 Dec. 2023 As Sun starts to come apart under the pressure of her job, the writing gets more fragmented, and more experimental. Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2024 Since the Capitol riot, Peyton had watched her family come apart. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023 This can cause your shoulder blades to protract or come apart (instead of staying squeezed together), Hodges explains. Jenny McCoy, SELF, 23 Oct. 2023 Now the man reportedly worth $2.2 billion has revealed it’s been difficult to watch his project come apart at the seams, potentially pouring salt on the wounds for investors who may still blame him, in some part, for the company’s ultimate demise. Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023 Don't allow the light strands to cross sections or the points of assembly—sections will no longer come apart easily. Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come apart.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near come apart

Cite this Entry

“Come apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20apart. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

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