disassemble
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disassemblesimple
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disassemblessimple
-
have disassembledperfect
-
has disassembledperfect
-
am disassemblingprogressive
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are disassemblingprogressive
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is disassemblingprogressive
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have been disassemblingperfect progressive
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has been disassemblingperfect progressive
Past
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disassembledsimple
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had disassembledperfect
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was disassemblingprogressive
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were disassemblingprogressive
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had been disassemblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disassemble
Explanation
The verb disassemble means to take something apart. It's one thing to disassemble a computer; it's a whole other thing to put it back together again. If you take your car to the repair shop to have a squeaky brake fixed, you'll be surprised to see the mechanics quickly disassemble your car, removing even its wheels and doors. You can use the word disassemble whenever something's dismantled or broken into pieces. Originally, disassemble meant "to disperse," or to stop a crowd of people from assembling, but the meaning changed to its current definition in the 1600s.
Vocabulary lists containing disassemble
Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 9
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The Kill Order
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Everything that the casual moviegoer would consider “wrong” about Jenkin’s approach is what makes his films so transcendently jarring as they seemingly disassemble in front of our eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
For nearly half an hour, the soldier demonstrates different types of ammunition and how to assemble and disassemble the Kalashnikov using illustrated boards set up behind him on Haft-e Tir Square.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
"However, there have been stacks created on parts of Mam Tor, and staff and volunteers will infrequently disassemble any found."
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2025
However, much less is known about the membrane-free organelles that can dynamically assemble and disassemble inside the nucleus, such as the photobodies that help to sense light and temperature in plants.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024
Then came the things I could disassemble, like the crew seats, several of the backup systems, and the control panels.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Nulaxy's aluminum laptop stand does exactly that and easily disassembles when it's not needed.
From The Verge ● Nov. 22, 2021
Throughout the tragicomic solo “Monologue,” a trumpeter literally disassembles the horn, producing a litany of hisses, sputters and rattles.
From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2020
Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins In her bold and strange novel, Watkins disassembles the mythology of the American west, paying particular attention to its brutal expansionism and unquestioned promise of personal reinvention.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2020
A small Detroit-area firm that disassembles new cars and analyzes them down to the nuts and bolts picked apart Tesla’s Model 3 sedans.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2018
The energy yield depends on the amount of uranium and the time it can be held together before it disassembles itself.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
Zucker Art Books has the star of the entire fair in its disassembled book by Yuji Itaya, an otherwise unknown amateur lepidopterist who lived in Japan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
The device failed to explode and it was discovered and disassembled by the authorities on March 16, the US Attorney's office said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
But a booster it attempted to reuse rapidly disassembled in midair.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 17, 2025
Many of the island’s 300-plus residents had already disassembled their ramshackle homes, and bundles of plywood, timber, and corrugated iron lay lashed on the beach.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
She was tying the bundled rods of Smithy’s disassembled yurt to her camel.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
From all accounts, Israeli and American military strikes are meeting and even exceeding their goals of disassembling the regime’s infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
The team is disassembling at a rate fans are apprehensive about.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026
There, Mark finds Gemma serenely disassembling the crib, and coaxes her to run with him.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
“There was never a waking moment when Ed wasn’t with his guitar. He worked day and night, disassembling and then refashioning his guitars to suit his sound, practicing endlessly. It was all he cared about.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2024
The next time we saw him, he was in uniform, assigned to motion study training in assembling and disassembling the Lewis machine gun and other automatic weapons.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
