adverb
- into pieces or parts; to pieces: to take a watch apart; an old barn falling apart from decay.
- separately in place, time, motion, etc.: New York and Tokyo are thousands of miles apart. Our birthdays are three days apart.
- 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.
- separately or individually in consideration: each factor viewed apart from the others.
- aside (used with a gerund or noun): Joking apart, what do you think?
adjective
- having independent or unique qualities, features, or characteristics (usually used following the noun it modifies): a class apart.
Verb Phrases
- take apart,
- to disassemble: to take a clock apart.
- Informal.to criticize; attack: She was taken apart for her controversial stand.
- to subject to intense examination: He will take your feeble excuses apart.
- apart from, aside from; in addition to; besides: Apart from other considerations, time is a factor.
adjective, adverb (postpositive)
- to pieces or in pieceshe had the television apart on the floor
- placed or kept separately or to one side for a particular purpose, reason, etc; aside (esp in the phrases set or put apart)
- separate in time, place, or position; at a distancehe stood apart from the group; two points three feet apart
- not being taken into account; asidethese difficulties apart, the project ran smoothly
- individual; distinct; separatea race apart
- separately or independently in use, thought, or functionconsidered apart, his reasoning was faulty
- apart from (preposition) besides; other than
late 14c., from Old French à part “to the side,” from Latin ad “to” (see ad-) + partem, accusative of pars “a side” (see part (n.)).
In addition to the idiom beginning with apart
- apart from
also see:
- come apart
- fall apart
- pick apart
- poles apart
- set apart
- take apart
- tear apart
- tell apart