pick apart

Idioms  

1. Also, pick holes in or pick to pieces. Find flaws in something by close examination, criticize sharply, as in The lawyer picked apart the testimony, or He found it easy to pick holes in their argument, or The new editor picked her manuscript to pieces. These expressions use pick in the sense of “pierce” or “poke,” a usage dating from the 1300s; pick holes in dates from the mid-1600s, pick to pieces from the mid-1800s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pick apart

Objectively, we can pick apart other people’s arguments, especially when it comes to when to claim Social Security, but we can allow him some grace for “what ifs.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

"We have a treasure chest in our hands now that we can pick apart and explore," Briner says.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 18, 2026

You’ll watch Rex Ryan pick apart your decisions and mutter to yourself: Rex Ryan?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026

And just like last week, junior quarterback Jayden Maiava was content to sit back and pick apart an inferior defense.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2025

All the more reason to pick apart the testimony and get as little of it admitted as possible.

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

Related Words

• admonish
• berate
• castigate
• chastise
• chide
• denounce
• discipline
• rebuff
• rebuke
• reprimand
• reproach
• scold