take apart

verb

took apart; taken apart; taking apart; takes apart
Synonyms of take apartnext

transitive verb

1
: to disconnect the pieces of (something) : disassemble
take a machine apart
While the giant engines at the Waterworks were being taken apart piece by piece and examined for damage, temporary sources of power were sought.—Jim Murphy
2
informal : to treat (someone or something) roughly or harshly : to tear into
The voice in his head that normally took him apart was cutting him some slack. Every now and then, it actually gave him some credit.—David Corbett

Examples of take apart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Fatu took apart the steel steps, but Reigns threw one of the stairs at Fatu’s head. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026 This concept is similar to taking apart a Lego structure and rebuilding it elsewhere with the same parts. — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 4 June 2026 Across the street, other workers are clearing the rubble from the old Highmark Stadium as it is taken apart piece by piece. — Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 11 June 2026 Many were taken apart after being dispersed following her 1928 death. — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 26 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for take apart

Word History

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of take apart was in 1744

Rhymes for take apart

See All Rhymes for take apart

Browse Nearby Words

take a/one's cue from
take apart
take (a place) by storm
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Take apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20apart. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on take apart

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for take apart

Nglish: Translation of take apart for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All