apart

[uh-pahrt]

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?

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.

apart

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• apartness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of apart¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of apart¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

   Apart from other considerations, time is a factor.

More idioms and phrases containing apart

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

Example Sentences

Living “in the heart of elephant country” from 1966-70, Mr. Douglas-Hamilton learned to tell hundreds of elephants apart, largely through the shape of their ears or tears and nicks in them.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Across the wider Caribbean, Melissa's powerful winds have torn apart homes and buildings, uprooted trees and left tens of thousands without power.

Read more on BBC

“Emotionally, it’s ripping my family apart and it’s also killing me financially,” Hyman said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Two colossal black hole collisions, detected just a month apart in late 2024, are reshaping how scientists interpret the most extreme cosmic events in the universe.

Read more on Science Daily

The richest team in baseball is splitting apart at the seams, tearing under stress, fraying beyond recognition, collecting on the floor of the 2025 season in heaping piles of disappointment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times