pick apart
phrasal verb
picked apart; picking apart; picks apart
chiefly US
: to say all of the things that are bad or wrong about (someone or something) : to criticize (a person or thing) in a very detailed and usually unkind way
You can expect political analysts to pick apart the governor's speech.
The film's critics picked his performance apart.
Examples of pick apart in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The college student had been attending a class on brand identity, when her lecturer had asked her classmates to pick apart the brand.
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Sonal Nain
alex Backus
cameron Schoppa, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
Israel, meanwhile, steadily degraded Tehran’s position by picking apart Hezbollah (Tehran’s most powerful partner), tearing through Hamas, and taking out some of Iran’s air defenses.
—Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 8 July 2025
Lawyers gently questioned most witnesses During an eight-week trial, Combs' lawyers picked apart the prosecution case with mostly gentle but firm cross-examinations.
—CBS News, 7 July 2025
The lawyer picked apart the allegations of bribery, witness tampering and obstruction — and focused heavily on the implication that Combs orchestrated an act of arson on Mescudi’s car.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pick apart
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Sonal Nain
alex Backus
cameron Schoppa, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
Israel, meanwhile, steadily degraded Tehran’s position by picking apart Hezbollah (Tehran’s most powerful partner), tearing through Hamas, and taking out some of Iran’s air defenses.
—Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 8 July 2025
Lawyers gently questioned most witnesses During an eight-week trial, Combs' lawyers picked apart the prosecution case with mostly gentle but firm cross-examinations.
—CBS News, 7 July 2025
The lawyer picked apart the allegations of bribery, witness tampering and obstruction — and focused heavily on the implication that Combs orchestrated an act of arson on Mescudi’s car.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pick apart
Cite this Entry
“Pick apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pick%20apart. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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