verb
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to cut open and examine the structure of (a dead animal or plant)
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(tr) to examine critically and minutely
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To cut apart or separate body tissues or organs, especially for anatomical study.
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In surgery, to separate different anatomical structures along natural lines by dividing the connective tissue framework.
Other Word Forms
- dissectible adjective
- dissection noun
- dissector noun
- redissect verb (used with object)
- self-dissecting adjective
Etymology
Origin of dissect
1600–10; < Latin dissectus (past participle of dissecāre to cut up), equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + sec- cut + -tus past participle suffix
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.
They dissect ingredient lists, film unboxings and record "Get Ready With Me" videos built around ideas such as "glass skin", sheet masks and, of course, snail mucin.
From BBC
Everything nowadays is documented, live-streamed and dissected, so his silence represented something my generation is deeply uncomfortable with: the absence of a narrative.
Graham Greene dissects the human heart, laying bare its irreconcilable contradictions.
There’s a massive culture of forecasting and dissecting — it can be overwhelming to me as a viewer because I feel like I’m not watching closely enough.
From Los Angeles Times
His eyebrow-raising biography is dissected by way of inventive vignettes that blend performance and wildly interactive sets.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
