apart

American  

[uh-pahrt] / əˈpɑrt /

adverb

1. into pieces or parts; to pieces.

   to take a watch apart; an old barn falling apart from decay.

2. separately in place, time, motion, etc..

   New York and Tokyo are thousands of miles apart. Our birthdays are three days apart.

3. to or at one side, with respect to place, purpose, or function.

   to put money apart for education; to keep apart from the group out of pride.

4. separately or individually in consideration.

   each factor viewed apart from the others.

5. aside (used with a gerund or noun).

   Joking apart, what do you think?

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adjective

1. having independent or unique qualities, features, or characteristics; separate (usually used following the noun it modifies).

   a class apart.

verb phrase

1. take apart

   1. to disassemble.

      to take a clock apart.

   2. Informal. to criticize; attack.

      She was taken apart for her controversial stand.

   3. to subject to intense examination.

      He will take your feeble excuses apart.

idioms

1. apart from, aside from; in addition to.

   Apart from other considerations, time is a factor.

apart British  

/ əˈpɑːt /

adjective

1. to pieces or in pieces

   he had the television apart on the floor

2. placed or kept separately or to one side for a particular purpose, reason, etc; aside (esp in the phrases set or put apart )

3. separate in time, place, or position; at a distance

   he stood apart from the group

   two points three feet apart

4. not being taken into account; aside

   these difficulties apart, the project ran smoothly

5. individual; distinct; separate

   a race apart

6. separately or independently in use, thought, or function

   considered apart, his reasoning was faulty

7. (preposition) besides; other than

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apart More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing apart

• come apart
• fall apart
• pick apart
• poles apart
• set apart
• take apart
• tear apart
• tell apart

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Other Word Forms

• apartness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of apart

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French a part “to one side”; see a- ⁵, part

Explanation

When things are apart, they are separated, often because they're far away from each other. If you are in Hawaii for the summer and your best friend is in Maine, you are apart. You can say that San Diego and San Francisco are about 500 miles apart, or that you hate spending time apart from your cat when you travel. Sometimes people are figuratively apart, when they've ended their relationship. You can also use apart to mean "in pieces," as when a firecracker blows apart an apple. The word comes from the Old French à part, "to the side," from the Latin roots ad "to," and partem, "a side."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

apart

On Monday's sentencing it was heard he had failed to do so apart from a single payment of £1,232 in May 2025.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

The discovery began with an exceptionally bright flare produced when a star wandered too close to a massive black hole and was ripped apart by its intense gravity.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

But in Koivun’s mind, it’s his mental abilities and not his physical ones that set him apart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

The singer’s two sisters died of different cancers days apart in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

She was old and tough but we ate every shred of meat and sucked on the bones until they fell apart in our mouths.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff