apart

[uh-pahrt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apart ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

into pieces or parts; to pieces: to take a watch apart; an old barn falling apart from decay.

separately in place, time, motion, etc.: New York and Tokyo are thousands of miles apart. Our birthdays are three days apart.

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.

separately or individually in consideration: each factor viewed apart from the others.

aside (used with a gerund or noun): Joking apart, what do you think?

adjective

having independent or unique qualities, features, or characteristics (usually used following the noun it modifies): a class apart.

Verb Phrases

take apart,

to disassemble: to take a clock apart.
Informal.to criticize; attack: She was taken apart for her controversial stand.
to subject to intense examination: He will take your feeble excuses apart.

Idioms

apart from, aside from; in addition to; besides: Apart from other considerations, time is a factor.

Origin of apart

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French a part to one side. See a-⁵, part

Related formsa·part·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for apart

aside, afar, alone, aloof, away, disconnected, distant, distinct, exclusively, freely, independent, independently, individually, isolated, separated, separately, singly, special

Examples from the Web for apart

Contemporary Examples of apart

Apart from the video, the Saraya Al-Khorasani group has made no official declaration that it is linked to Taghavi.
What an Iranian Funeral Tells Us About the Wars in Iraq
IranWire
January 6, 2015
What sets him apart from so many of his contemporaries was his rare immunity from the influence of prevailing ideas.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler
John Henry Crosby
December 26, 2014
Apart from his wheels, Hamzat was living with few comforts and little cash.
The Secret Life of an ISIS Warlord
Will Cathcart, Vazha Tavberidze, Nino Burchuladze
October 27, 2014
They are never portraits of specific individuals who might interest us, even visually, apart from their pictorial roles.
The Stacks: Edward Hopper’s X-Ray Vision
Hilton Kramer
October 25, 2014
Apart from the outfits, of course, some of which have been quite outlandish.
The UK’s New Iron Lady in Kitten Heels
Nico Hines, Tom Sykes
October 4, 2014

Historical Examples of apart

They were apart from the others and for the moment unnoticed.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
I am considering them apart, and confining myself wholly to the words of the song.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
At any rate, the fact is that she was not buried with him, but apart from him; he had seen to that.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
He has got to paint them so you can tell them apart the minute you look at them, hain't he?
Tom Sawyer Abroad
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Only this, she and another were like one, always, apart from the others.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson

British Dictionary definitions for apart

apart

adjective, adverb (postpositive)

to pieces or in pieceshe had the television apart on the floor

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

separate in time, place, or position; at a distancehe stood apart from the group; two points three feet apart

not being taken into account; asidethese difficulties apart, the project ran smoothly

individual; distinct; separatea race apart

separately or independently in use, thought, or functionconsidered apart, his reasoning was faulty

apart from (preposition) besides; other than

Word Origin for apart

C14: from Old French a part at (the) side

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for apart

adv.

late 14c., from Old French à part "to the side," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + partem, accusative of pars "a side" (see part (n.)).

Idioms and Phrases with apart

apart

In addition to the idiom beginning with apart

apart from

also see:

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