apart

be coming/falling apart at the seams

1. if a system or organization is coming apart at the seams, it is in a very bad condition and likely to fail. For a while it seemed that the whole Asian economy was just coming apart at the seams.

2. if someone is coming apart at the seams, they are feeling extremely upset and have difficulty continuing to do the things they usually do. It's no excuse, but we were all working really hard and none of us noticed that Rory was just falling apart at the seams.

See also: coming, fall, seam

be poles apart

if two people or things are poles apart, they are complete opposites. My sister and I are poles apart in personality. Our political views are poles apart.

See also: pole

be worlds apart

if two things or people are worlds apart, they are completely different from each other. You can't compare a cheap stereo with a top of the range model - they're worlds apart.

See also: world

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apart from something

except for something. Apart from its wonderful kitchen, that house needs a lot of work done on it.

See also: from

come apart

to stop working effectively. Parents are saying that the school has come apart since the principal left. If the agreement comes apart, we'll just have to put a better one together.

come apart at the seams

See also: come

come apart at the seams

to be in a bad condition and about to fail or lose control. Large segments of the world economy seem to be coming apart at the seams.

come apart

Etymology: from the idea that when the seams (= places where two pieces of material are sewn together) in clothing come apart, it can no longer be used

See also: come, seam

fall apart

1. to stop working or fail completely. Her marriage fell apart after about ten years. The deal to sell the company fell apart last summer.

2. to break into pieces. Cook the tomatoes until they begin to fall apart. When the roof wasn't repaired, the building really began to fall apart.

See also: fall

pick someone/something apart

to find mistakes, weaknesses, or faults in someone or something. When new software is developed, the company sends out a test version and asks users to pick it apart. Lots of players are picked apart by their coaches, by the fans, and by the media.

See also: pick

pull apart something

to examine all the parts of something in order to understand it. We spent the afternoon pulling apart the figures supplied by the research team.

See also: pull

set someone/something apart (from someone/something)

to show someone or something to be different or special. Those selected as leaders of the future have qualities that set them apart. He's the one in the big white hat and bow tie, which sets him apart from all the men in dark suits.

See also: set

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 parts of something)

See also: take

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 (= separate the parts of something)

See also: take

tear apart someone/something

1. to severely criticize someone or something. The critics tore apart his first novel, but he never gave up and finally achieved great success. His teachers tore him apart for cheating on the test.

2. to hurt someone or something badly. The college was torn apart by antiwar protests. The families of the victims were torn apart with grief and anger and sorrow. Success has a way of tearing up relationships.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of tear apart (= pull into pieces)

See also: tear

tell (someone/something) apart

to be able to see the difference between one person or thing and another. One guy's a Democrat and the other's a Republican, but it wasn't always easy to tell them apart. The twins are no longer as hard to tell apart as when they were little babies. She held out two flowers, but I couldn't tell which was which.

See also: tell

worlds apart

completely different. The most expensive entertainment system and what most of us have are worlds apart and can't be compared. The two women were single mothers but in every other respect were worlds apart.

See also: world