verb
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to cut open and examine the structure of (a dead animal or plant)
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(tr) to examine critically and minutely
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To cut apart or separate body tissues or organs, especially for anatomical study.
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In surgery, to separate different anatomical structures along natural lines by dividing the connective tissue framework.
Other Word Forms
- dissectible adjective
- dissection noun
- dissector noun
- redissect verb (used with object)
- self-dissecting adjective
Etymology
Origin of dissect
1600–10; < Latin dissectus (past participle of dissecāre to cut up), equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + sec- cut + -tus past participle suffix
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.
This required extremely delicate lab work, including dissecting individual nurse bees.
From Science Daily
If you dissect the reasons that most don’t actually earn those mythical buy-and-hold returns, losing money in bear markets isn’t the biggest reason.
Television habits have also changed since viewers once dissected tribal council proceedings at the office the next morning.
From Los Angeles Times
"This suggests there are some requirements from the immune system in order for this drug to work, and we're in the process of dissecting these characteristics in more granular detail in these larger studies."
From Science Daily
“Ye’s lawyers called him a liar, a fraud, and a malingerer in court. His medical records, bank records, and personal family history were dissected, mocked, and vilified,” said attorney Ronald Zambrano in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
