take apart
verb
took apart; taken apart; taking apart; takes apart
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
Jim Murphy2
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
David CorbettExamples of take apart in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Welding sparks shot out as workers took apart old floats and some swept the floor.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2024
Taylor Dixon took apart six buds for iFixit back in 2020, and only Sony's WF-1000XM3 didn't require soldering, cutting and re-applying glue, and a steady hand working in very small spaces.
AirPods?
—Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 10 Apr. 2024
What’s happening on this season of The Boys At the heart of The Boys is a brash deconstruction of the superhero fantasy, taking apart the traditional comic book superhero arc where super-powered beings save the day and defend those who can’t defend themselves.
—Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 25 June 2024
After Hurricane Ian in 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Idaho National Laboratory engineers conducted research by taking apart the water damaged EVs to understand the impacts of flooding on their batteries.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 15 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for take apart 
Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2024
Taylor Dixon took apart six buds for iFixit back in 2020, and only Sony's WF-1000XM3 didn't require soldering, cutting and re-applying glue, and a steady hand working in very small spaces.
AirPods?
—Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 10 Apr. 2024
What’s happening on this season of The Boys At the heart of The Boys is a brash deconstruction of the superhero fantasy, taking apart the traditional comic book superhero arc where super-powered beings save the day and defend those who can’t defend themselves.
—Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 25 June 2024
After Hurricane Ian in 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Idaho National Laboratory engineers conducted research by taking apart the water damaged EVs to understand the impacts of flooding on their batteries.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 15 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for take apart
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take apart.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Take apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20apart. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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