take apart

take apart
a) to dismantle something into its component pieces.

I carefully took the clock mechanism apart to clean it.

b) to soundly defeat someone, or a team

And besides, I was also enjoying the way you took them apart. You know, arguing with them like you did.


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  • take apart — take (something) apart to examine something carefully in order to completely understand it. I decided to take apart this popular word “subculture” and see what it really means. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of take something apart (=… …   New idioms dictionary

  • take apart — index break (separate), disjoint, dissolve (separate) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • take apart — verb 1. divide into pieces (Freq. 1) our department was dismembered when our funding dried up The Empire was discerped after the war • Syn: ↑dismember, ↑discerp • Hypernyms: ↑separate, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • take apart — 1) PHRASAL VERB If you take something apart, you separate it into the different parts that it is made of. [V n P] When the clock stopped, he took it apart, found what was wrong, and put the whole thing together again. [Also V P n (not pron)] Syn …   English dictionary

  • take apart — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms take apart : present tense I/you/we/they take apart he/she/it takes apart present participle taking apart past tense took apart past participle taken apart 1) to separate an object into pieces My watch stopped …   English dictionary

  • take-apart — ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ adjective Etymology: take apart : constructed so as to be readily taken apart and reassembled : takedown take apart toys …   Useful english dictionary

  • take apart — take (someone) apart to try to understand a person by examining their personality and character. That psychiatrist wanted to take me apart to see what makes me tick. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of take something apart (= separate the… …   New idioms dictionary

  • Take Apart the Words — Infobox Album Name = Take Apart The Words Type = Album Artist = Breaking Pangaea Released = December 11, 2000 Recorded = Genre = Indie rock Length = Label = Undecided Records Producer = Reviews = Last album = This album = Take Apart The Words… …   Wikipedia

  • take apart — Synonyms and related words: atomize, break to pieces, cleave, defoliate, demolish, denude, disassemble, disintegrate, dismantle, dismember, dismount, draw and quarter, flay, fragment, lacerate, maim, make mincemeat of, mangle, mutilate, peel,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • take apart — 1) we took the machine apart Syn: dismantle, pull to pieces, pull apart, disassemble, break up; tear down, demolish, destroy, wreck 2) informal the scene was taken apart by the director See criticize …   Thesaurus of popular words

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