apart

[uh-pahrt]

adverb

1. into pieces or parts; to pieces.

   to take a watch apart; an old barn falling apart from decay.

2. separately in place, time, motion, etc..

   New York and Tokyo are thousands of miles apart. Our birthdays are three days apart.

3. to or at one side, with respect to place, purpose, or function.

   to put money apart for education; to keep apart from the group out of pride.

4. separately or individually in consideration.

   each factor viewed apart from the others.

5. aside (used with a gerund or noun).

   Joking apart, what do you think?

adjective

1. having independent or unique qualities, features, or characteristics; separate (usually used following the noun it modifies).

   a class apart.

verb phrase

1. take apart

   1. to disassemble.

      to take a clock apart.

   2. Informal.,  to criticize; attack.

      She was taken apart for her controversial stand.

   3. to subject to intense examination.

      He will take your feeble excuses apart.

apart

/ əˈpɑːt /

adjective

1. to pieces or in pieces

   he had the television apart on the floor

2. placed or kept separately or to one side for a particular purpose, reason, etc; aside (esp in the phrases set or put apart )

3. separate in time, place, or position; at a distance

   he stood apart from the group

   two points three feet apart

4. not being taken into account; aside

   these difficulties apart, the project ran smoothly

5. individual; distinct; separate

   a race apart

6. separately or independently in use, thought, or function

   considered apart, his reasoning was faulty

7. (preposition) besides; other than

Other Word Forms

• apartness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of apart¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French a part “to one side”; a- ⁵, part

Word History and Origins

Origin of apart¹

C14: from Old French a part at (the) side

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. apart from, aside from; in addition to.

   Apart from other considerations, time is a factor.

More idioms and phrases containing apart

• come apart
• fall apart
• pick apart
• poles apart
• set apart
• take apart
• tear apart
• tell apart

Example Sentences

In the latter, another youngster emerges from a chaotic throng of people, standing apart from the hubbub while carrying a stack of books, suggesting that education offered opportunities to escape these harried circumstances.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

What set top managers apart from their peers, more than any other factor, was their knack for reallocating people into just the right roles—or helping people make those moves themselves.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Hikers carry fobs and must scan in at four checkpoints 7 miles apart and depart by a certain time or quit.

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That fell apart after New Delhi refused to grant permission following a deadly border conflict with China in June 2020 that soured relations between the two countries.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For Emily Hough, nature was too often simply something "out there", a world apart from her, a view from a hospital window.

Read more on BBC