apart

1 of 2

adverb

ə-ˈpärt 

1

a

: at a little distance

tried to keep apart from the family squabbles

b

: away from one another in space or time

towns 20 miles apart

2

a

: as a separate unit : independently

Viewed apart, his arguments were unsound.

b

: so as to separate one from another

I found it hard to tell the twins apart.

3

: excluded from consideration : aside

A few blemishes apart, the novel is excellent.

4

: in or into two or more parts : to pieces

coming apart at the seams

see also take apart

apart

2 of 2

adjective

1

: separate, isolated

Those athletes are a breed apart.

2

: holding different opinions : divided

The councilors are still apart.

apartness noun

Synonyms

Adverb

• asunder
• piecemeal

Examples of apart in a Sentence

Adverb

He stood with his feet planted far apart.

He stood apart while the other members of the team celebrated.

Their children were born two years apart.

My wife and I are unhappy when we're apart.

They separated and have been living apart for the past year.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

Broocks noted that the Sandy Hook lawsuit judgments could be overturned in pending appeals and got Murray to acknowledge that the Sandy Hook families' offer in The Onion bid could fall apart if that happens. —CBS News, 11 Dec. 2024

The nearly 300-mile trek from Atlanta was pivotal in showing the Confederacy was falling apart as Sherman’s troops gutted much of the key slave state. —Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 11 Dec. 2024

Adjective

Since 2005, the Savage Stone Quarry has mined a mineral called Baltimore gabbro, which is used for road beds, riprap and airport runways, by blasting apart chunks of rock in a large open pit, situated between Interstate 95 and Route 1. —Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 5 July 2024

But oxygen can arise from other processes: Sunlight could break apart water in the planet’s atmosphere, for example. —Elise Cutts, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

Middle English, from Anglo-French a part, literally, to one side

Adjective

derivative of apart entry 1

First Known Use

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1680, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing apart

• a breed apart
• apart from
• apart from anything else
• a world apart
• a world apart from
• come apart
• come apart at the seams
• come/fall apart at the seams
• doors down/up/apart
• fall apart
• grow apart
• joking apart
• pick apart
• poles apart
• pull apart
• quite apart from
• rip apart
• set apart
• take apart
• tear apart
• tell apart
• worlds apart

Kids Definition

apart

1 of 2 adverb

ə-ˈpärt 

1

: away from each other

five miles apart

2

: as something separate

viewed apart from the other

3

: in or into two or more parts

took the clock apart

4

: one from another

can't tell the twins apart

apart

2 of 2 adjective

: separate from others

in a place apart

apartness noun