take apart
Britishverb
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to separate (something) into component parts
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to criticize or punish severely
the reviewers took the new play apart
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Dismantle or disassemble, as in They had to take apart the stereo before they could move it . This usage was first recorded in 1936.
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Examine thoroughly, analyze or dissect, as in The teacher embarrassed Tom by taking his thesis apart in front of the class . [Mid-1900s]
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Beat up, thrash, as in You'd better be careful; those boys will take you apart . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
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.
"You have to make things easy to take apart, so that people clean them. The bottom line is, if it's not easy to take apart, you don't clean it."
From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025
"We wanted to take apart these coded messages and figure out which molecules were, themselves, therapeutic."
From Science Daily • Dec. 5, 2025
I was really into fashion and had this idea to rework vintage or take apart something old and make it new.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2024
If "Game of Thrones" fell into the same Madonna-Whore trap that Martin laid to take apart, "House of the Dragon" is much more careful in its depiction of Alys, who stays comfortably in her clothes.
From Salon • Aug. 10, 2024
Max and I take apart the sofa, stripping off its upholstery, washing the dark green cloth in three soapings of hot water.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
