pull apart
phrasal 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 figurativelyHis 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
Related article Astronomers’ discovery of distant Milky Way-like galaxy challenges our theories of how cosmos evolved
Euclid is designed to observe billions of galaxies that stretch 10 billion light-years away to reveal how matter may have been stretched and pulled apart by dark energy over time.
—
Ashley Strickland, CNN, 23 Oct. 2024
According to him, to know is to shatter, to pull apart; a state of knowledge is an exposure of a diverse cosmology that claims to unite a whole.
—Hisham Matar, Harper's Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
As American Primeval’s third episode opens, some of the series’ plot strands keep getting pulled apart while others start to wind around each other.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
During rapid weight gain, the skin is stretched and starts to pull apart.
—Susan Bard, Verywell Health, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pull apart 
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Ashley Strickland, CNN, 23 Oct. 2024
According to him, to know is to shatter, to pull apart; a state of knowledge is an exposure of a diverse cosmology that claims to unite a whole.
—Hisham Matar, Harper's Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
As American Primeval’s third episode opens, some of the series’ plot strands keep getting pulled apart while others start to wind around each other.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
During rapid weight gain, the skin is stretched and starts to pull apart.
—Susan Bard, Verywell Health, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pull apart
Dictionary Entries Near pull apart
Cite this Entry
“Pull apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pull%20apart. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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