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
Trump signed a Thursday executive order seeking to pull apart the functions of the department, the brainchild of former President Carter.
—
Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 21 Mar. 2025
Prosecutors played the 911 call in a Denver courtroom Friday at the start of a preliminary hearing in the murder case against Myklebust — then spent the next hours pulling apart the man’s story.
—Shelly Bradbury, The Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2025
The bulky root balls of containerized stock may need to be loosened up or their roots may be circling the container and will have to be pulled apart and straightened prior to planting.
Vegetables.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 6 Mar. 2025
Here's how to pull this prank off: To make the crackers, pull apart several vanilla sandwich cookies.
—Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pull apart
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Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 21 Mar. 2025
Prosecutors played the 911 call in a Denver courtroom Friday at the start of a preliminary hearing in the murder case against Myklebust — then spent the next hours pulling apart the man’s story.
—Shelly Bradbury, The Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2025
The bulky root balls of containerized stock may need to be loosened up or their roots may be circling the container and will have to be pulled apart and straightened prior to planting.
Vegetables.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 6 Mar. 2025
Here's how to pull this prank off: To make the crackers, pull apart several vanilla sandwich cookies.
—Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pull apart
Cite this Entry
“Pull apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pull%20apart. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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