dismember

[dis-mem-ber]

verb (used with object)

1. to deprive of limbs; divide limb from limb.

   The ogre dismembered his victims before he ate them.

2. to divide into parts; cut to pieces; mutilate.

3. to reduce, reorganize, or discontinue the services or parts of (a company, government agency, etc.).

   Our business was dismembered by the conglomerate that bought it.

dismember

/ dɪsˈmɛmbə /

verb

1. to remove the limbs or members of

2. to cut to pieces

3. to divide or partition (something, such as an empire)

Other Word Forms

• dismemberer noun
• dismemberment noun
• nondismemberment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dismember¹

1250–1300; Middle English dismembren < Anglo-French, Old French desmembrer, equivalent to des- dis- ¹ + -membrer, verbal derivative of membre member

Example Sentences

"All of the bodies appeared to have been dismembered by a coarse cutting instrument, such as a chainsaw," a detective wrote at the time.

From BBC

Mosquera dismembered their bodies days later - placing their heads in the chest freezer and transporting other body parts in suitcases to Bristol.

From BBC

Mosquera "decapitated and dismembered" the pair, froze parts of their remains and brought the rest in suitcases to Bristol.

From BBC

Upon his arrest, he told officers: "I could not stay here with her like that. I tried to dismember her. I moved her from the bath and put her there."

From BBC

A man accused of murdering and dismembering a couple claims his family was threatened by one of them.

From BBC

Related Words

• dismantle 
• maim 
• mutilate 
• sever 
• sunder