take apart
verb
took apart; taken apart; taking apart; takes apart
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
Jim Murphy2
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
David CorbettExamples of take apart in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In springtime Paris, the conversation is like no other
When Paul was done, Shelton took the court and made a mess of Matteo Gigante, the 23-year-old Italian who survived qualifying and took apart Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2021 finalist.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 1 June 2025
The agency meant to defend against these abuses is being taken apart from the inside.
—Chloe Rogers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2025
Ravaged by dry rot, entire sections of the building were taken apart stone by stone and rebuilt.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 28 June 2025
While city officials initially planned to take apart the bridge to allow the tall masts of the boat to pass through, public backlash prompted them to walk back on their decision, the New York Times reported at the time.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for take apart
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Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 1 June 2025
The agency meant to defend against these abuses is being taken apart from the inside.
—Chloe Rogers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2025
Ravaged by dry rot, entire sections of the building were taken apart stone by stone and rebuilt.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 28 June 2025
While city officials initially planned to take apart the bridge to allow the tall masts of the boat to pass through, public backlash prompted them to walk back on their decision, the New York Times reported at the time.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for take apart
Cite this Entry
“Take apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20apart. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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