disconnect
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disconnects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disconnected,
past participle, past
-
disconnecting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
disconnects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disconnected,
past participle, past
-
disconnecting
present participle
-
to sever or terminate a connection, as of a telephone; hang up.
State your business and disconnect.
-
to withdraw into one's private world.
When social pressures become too great, she simply disconnects.
noun
-
disconnects
plural
-
an act or instance of disconnecting, especially the suspension of telephone or cable TV service for nonpayment of service charges.
-
a lack of communication or agreement.
There is a huge disconnect between management and employees.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disconnectsimple
-
disconnectssimple
-
have disconnectedperfect
-
has disconnectedperfect
-
am disconnectingprogressive
-
are disconnectingprogressive
-
is disconnectingprogressive
-
have been disconnectingperfect progressive
-
has been disconnectingperfect progressive
Past
-
disconnectedsimple
-
had disconnectedperfect
-
was disconnectingprogressive
-
were disconnectingprogressive
-
had been disconnectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disconnect
Explanation
When you disconnect something, you detach or separate it from something else. If you work plowing driveways during the winter, you need to disconnect the plow from your truck in the spring. You can disconnect toy train cars, and you can also disconnect your laptop from its charger. In fact, unplugging electrical appliances is another way to disconnect something. Disconnect also means a lack of understanding or connection. So there might be a disconnect between you and your brother, or between what a politician promises to do and what she actually does. Disconnect combines dis-, "the opposite of" with connect, from the Latin conectere, "join together."
Vocabulary lists containing disconnect
Vocabulary from the Poem “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones
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Flying Lessons & Other Stories
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Mexican WhiteBoy
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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:
But the JRF says there is now an "increasing disconnect" between such rhetoric and "the reality of life for families in poverty across Scotland."
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Scientists who drew attention to that disconnect, such as Judith Curry, were assailed rather than debated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
For U.S. refiners in particular, there’s also a longstanding disconnect between places where domestic crude supplies are plentiful, and therefore cheaper, and places where demand for fuels is at its highest.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
In speaking with her friends, she realized they also felt a disconnect between the lives they envisioned for themselves and their realities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
“One of the brain’s most amazing abilities is for self-deception. So when there’s a disconnect between attitudes and behaviors, the brain changes attitude rather than changing behaviors.”
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
“This space is on fire despite stock price disconnects YTD for basically all of AI semis,” Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes wrote on Friday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026
Kill Switch Feature: This automatically disconnects your internet if the VPN connection drops, preventing your data from being exposed accidentally.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
Current and former employees say Vaughn needs to reignite morale and end disconnects with corporate executives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
But “a switch goes off in a narcissist’s brain that disconnects them emotionally from you.”
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025
There were so many cultural disconnects, but my friends accepted me.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Over the past few months, the performance of the premier U.S. equity index has grown increasingly disconnected from that of the average U.S.-traded stock.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Haymon said her experience as a candidate has revealed that many people feel disconnected from the justice system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The Baiga villages are not entirely disconnected from modern India.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
But the Mother Jones investigation found that Tebow’s role wasn’t entirely disconnected from Life Surge’s programs.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
The phone line suddenly went so quiet that Mrs. Richardson thought they’d been disconnected.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
The mind learns that disconnecting can allow a person to get space from the sensations, emotions, or experiences that are painful or overwhelming.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
"I was bored sometimes, and that's okay," West recalled one recent evening at a city community garden where detox participants met to share their struggles and joys of disconnecting.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
Some technology companies are fighting a potential solution: disconnecting the data centers from the grid when electricity is in short supply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
And some area residents will be without cable television and internet, as Cox Communications announced it will be disconnecting service to 146 customers in the Portuguese Bend Community Assn. starting Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024
Just like Mommy did years before me, I began my own process of running, emotionally disconnecting myself from her, as if by doing so I could keep her suffering from touching me.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
