disassemble

American  

[dis-uh-sem-buhl] / ˌdɪs əˈsɛm bəl /

verb (used with object)

• disassembles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• disassembled,
  past participle,  past
• disassembling
  present participle

1. to take apart.

---

verb (used without object)

• disassembles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• disassembled,
  past participle,  past
• disassembling
  present participle

1. to come apart.

   These shelves disassemble quickly for easy moving.

disassemble British  

/ ˌdɪsəˈsɛmbəl /

verb

1. (tr) to take apart (a piece of machinery, etc); dismantle

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• disassembly
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• disassembling
  present
• disassembled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• disassemble
  simple
• disassembles
  simple
• have disassembled
  perfect
• has disassembled
  perfect
• am disassembling
  progressive
• are disassembling
  progressive
• is disassembling
  progressive
• have been disassembling
  perfect progressive
• has been disassembling
  perfect progressive

Past

• disassembled
  simple
• had disassembled
  perfect
• was disassembling
  progressive
• were disassembling
  progressive
• had been disassembling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will disassemble
  simple
• will have disassembled
  perfect
• will be disassembling
  progressive
• will have been disassembling
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of disassemble

First recorded in 1605–15; dis- ¹ + assemble

---

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

disassemble disassembles disassembled disassembling

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

The basement in their North Logan home was an electronics graveyard that included Keith’s first Atari, an ancient model he’d sometimes pull out, disassemble, then solder back together as an improved version.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Wildfires were spreading rapidly in Texas and Oklahoma on Tuesday evening, prompting evacuations and the closure of a plant that disassembles nuclear weapons.

From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2024

Nulaxy's aluminum laptop stand does exactly that and easily disassembles when it's not needed.

From The Verge ● Nov. 22, 2021

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

The founder of Munro & Associates, a small Detroit-area firm that disassembles and analyzes new cars, said, “A lot of crow is being eaten around here.”

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 16, 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

"The Claw will be disassembled immediately after the event concludes," Joshua Fisher, Director for White House Management and Administration, said in the papers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

“The Eaton Fire could not have occurred if SCE had simply disassembled and removed Structure M16T1,” the lawyers added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Every component of the machine was disassembled, rebuilt, and reassembled, under the impetus to reach a new voltage threshold.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

But she didn’t want to tackle sanding, disassembling and repainting the latter entirely.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

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

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

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• dismantle

---