pull apart

verb

pulled apart; pulling apart; pulls apart
1
: to be separated into parts or pieces by pulling
The rolls pull apart easily.
2
: to separate or break (something) into parts or pieces
She pulled the rolls apart with her hands.
—sometimes used figuratively
His gambling problem is pulling the family apart.
3
: to separate (people or animals) in order to stop a fight
Customers stepped in and pulled the two men apart.

Examples of pull apart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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On Gallup’s scale, the Brookings data shows an America pulling apart. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026 GlassTENG's flexible sensors contain layers that press together and pull apart as the face moves. — New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026 Subjected to extreme cold, the sample was hit with a neutron beam and pulled apart continuously. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026 The clothes performed a parallel operation on familiar forms, pulling apart bikers, trenches, tweed jackets, corsetry, and punk hardware before rebuilding them into funky new forms of feminine armor. — Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pull apart

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Cite this Entry

“Pull apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pull%20apart. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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