disassemble
Americanverb (used with object)
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disassembles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disassembled,
past participle, past
-
disassembling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
disassembles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disassembled,
past participle, past
-
disassembling
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disassemblesimple
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disassemblessimple
-
have disassembledperfect
-
has disassembledperfect
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am disassemblingprogressive
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are disassemblingprogressive
-
is disassemblingprogressive
-
have been disassemblingperfect progressive
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has been disassemblingperfect progressive
Past
-
disassembledsimple
-
had disassembledperfect
-
was disassemblingprogressive
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were disassemblingprogressive
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had been disassemblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disassemble
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.
Vocabulary lists containing disassemble
Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 9
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The Kill Order
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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.
See Examples For:
Everything that the casual moviegoer would consider “wrong” about Jenkin’s approach is what makes his films so transcendently jarring as they seemingly disassemble in front of our eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
For nearly half an hour, the soldier demonstrates different types of ammunition and how to assemble and disassemble the Kalashnikov using illustrated boards set up behind him on Haft-e Tir Square.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
The modular building took 10 weeks to install - including laying its foundations - and will take just days to disassemble when it is no longer required.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
"In other words, we can disassemble the fabric so that we can recycle far more textiles in the future."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 13, 2024
Then came the things I could disassemble, like the crew seats, several of the backup systems, and the control panels.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
“This is art that summons, that creates what should be and disassembles what should not,” Toni Morrison wrote in the introduction to “Lost and Found,” a limited-edition 1989 portfolio of Ms. Maynard’s lithographs.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
As she stomps and shouts and disassembles, I sit here, still cross-legged on the bed, and wonder whether it’s too late in the day to jump on a train and head into work.
From The Verge ● Aug. 1, 2022
Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins In her bold and strange novel, Watkins disassembles the mythology of the American west, paying particular attention to its brutal expansionism and unquestioned promise of personal reinvention.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2020
A small Detroit-area firm that disassembles new cars and analyzes them down to the nuts and bolts picked apart Tesla’s Model 3 sedans.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2018
The energy yield depends on the amount of uranium and the time it can be held together before it disassembles itself.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
The German firm said it had disassembled the rocket to carry out investigations.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
She digitally "disassembled" the fossil one bone at a time and uncovered several anatomical features that differed from known Hesperosuchus specimens.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
Bicycle parts were of particular interest, hence the tented “bike shops,” with piles of disassembled parts, so common in L.A. encampments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
The partially disassembled research reactor, nicknamed “Norm,” is the latest design in a decadeslong pursuit by TAE to create a star on Earth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
He disassembled it in two seconds, then put it back together.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
From all accounts, Israeli and American military strikes are meeting and even exceeding their goals of disassembling the regime’s infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
The move involved disassembling the Vault sets and transporting them across the country in 77 semitrucks to be rebuilt again — this time all connected on one sound stage — in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
There, Mark finds Gemma serenely disassembling the crib, and coaxes her to run with him.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
These include disassembling the station and using the younger elements in a next-generation platform.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2024
The next time we saw him, he was in uniform, assigned to motion study training in assembling and disassembling the Lewis machine gun and other automatic weapons.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
