disassemble

American  

[dis-uh-sem-buhl] / ˌdɪs əˈsɛm bəl /

verb (used with object)

disassembles, present (3rd person singular) disassembled, past participle, past disassembling present participle

1. to take apart.

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verb (used without object)

disassembles, present (3rd person singular) disassembled, past participle, past disassembling present participle

1. to come apart.

   These shelves disassemble quickly for easy moving.

disassemble British  

/ ˌdɪsəˈsɛmbəl /

verb

1. (tr) to take apart (a piece of machinery, etc); dismantle

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• disassembly
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• disassembling
  present
• disassembled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• disassemble
  simple
• disassembles
  simple
• have disassembled
  perfect
• has disassembled
  perfect
• am disassembling
  progressive
• are disassembling
  progressive
• is disassembling
  progressive
• have been disassembling
  perfect progressive
• has been disassembling
  perfect progressive

Past

• disassembled
  simple
• had disassembled
  perfect
• was disassembling
  progressive
• were disassembling
  progressive
• had been disassembling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will disassemble
  simple
• will have disassembled
  perfect
• will be disassembling
  progressive
• will have been disassembling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of disassemble

First recorded in 1605–15; dis- ¹ + assemble

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.

Related Words

• dismantle