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disassemble

/ˈdɪsəˌsɛmbəl/
/dɪsəˈsɛmbəl/
IPA guide

Other forms: disassembled; disassembling; disassembles

The verb disassemble means to take something apart. It's one thing to disassemble a computer; it's a whole other thing to put it back together again.

If you take your car to the repair shop to have a squeaky brake fixed, you'll be surprised to see the mechanics quickly disassemble your car, removing even its wheels and doors. You can use the word disassemble whenever something's dismantled or broken into pieces. Originally, disassemble meant "to disperse," or to stop a crowd of people from assembling, but the meaning changed to its current definition in the 1600s.

Definitions of disassemble
  1. verb
    take apart into its constituent pieces
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    assemble
    create by putting components or members together
    type of:
    destroy, destruct
    do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘disassemble'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Commonly confused words

disassemble / dissemble

Disassemble is to take something apart, like an old car motor, but dissemble is sneaky — it means to hide your true self, like the guy who said he was a mechanic but had never actually seen a motor, much less put one back together.

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