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
The robotic arms can automatically take apart a device like a data center server and manage the electronics for reuse or recycling.
—Katie Fehrenbacher, Axios, 9 Oct. 2024
His people took apart the consoles and throttle, making Big Alice a glorified server under the control of the Snowpiercer engine — at least Wilford isn’t here to see this.
—Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2024
Trump’s statecraft is a response to a changing world and to demand signals from the U.S. electorate, not a capricious effort to take apart the world that the United States made.
—Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2024
Time took apart the mountains, and rain dissolved most of the minerals in them, but the quartz remained.
—Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for take apart 
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.
Katie Fehrenbacher, Axios, 9 Oct. 2024
His people took apart the consoles and throttle, making Big Alice a glorified server under the control of the Snowpiercer engine — at least Wilford isn’t here to see this.
—Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2024
Trump’s statecraft is a response to a changing world and to demand signals from the U.S. electorate, not a capricious effort to take apart the world that the United States made.
—Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2024
Time took apart the mountains, and rain dissolved most of the minerals in them, but the quartz remained.
—Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for take apart
Dictionary Entries Near take apart
Cite this Entry
“Take apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20apart. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share