apart

a|part [ ə`part ] function word ***

Apart can be used in the following ways:

as an adverb:

We had to take the engine apart.

after the verb to be :

I'm never happy when we're apart.

as an adjective (only after a noun):

Madagascar is a world apart.

in the preposition phrase apart from:

Everyone was there apart from Ann and Gayle.

1. ) at a distance away from each other if two people or things are apart, there is a space between them:

Stand with your feet apart.

a ) used for saying how far away from each other people or things are:

Their two farms are about a mile apart.

Plant the seeds 10 inches apart.

b ) used for saying that one person or group is some distance away from the others:

The man was alone, sitting apart, watching people come and go.

apart from: I saw Theresa at the graveside, standing apart from the rest of the family.

2. ) with time between events used for saying how much time there is between events:

Two surveys carried out 30 years apart show little change in attitudes toward childcare.

The two brothers were born six years apart.

3. ) into separate pieces broken or divided into many different parts or pieces:

tear/rip/pull something apart: The explosion tore the body of the plane apart.

take something apart: If the problem is in the printer, we'll have to take the whole thing apart.

fall/come apart: When I picked the book up it came apart in my hands.

4. ) except someone/something never before noun without considering or including someone or something in a judgment:

Bribery apart, there is almost no method of persuasion that is not allowed.

5. ) separated if you pull two things or people apart, you separate them:

We managed to drag the two men apart before they could harm each other.

a ) if two people are apart, they are not in the same place together:

We hate being apart, but Gary e-mails me every day.

Aitken and his wife have been living apart.

6. ) different if two people, opinions, or ways of living are far apart, they are very different:

Galbraith's views and my own are not far apart on the issue of free trade.

When the talks ended, the two sides seemed as far apart as ever.

be worlds apart (=be very different): They were worlds apart and doubted they could make the relationship work.

a ) different from all the other people or things:

The Swiss economy is a case apart, unlike any other.

set someone apart (=make someone different from others): He has a unique genius that sets him apart from other writers.

=> TELL APART

7. ) when an organization, country, or relationship fails used for saying that an organization, country, or relationship is in a very bad state and is failing to stay together:

fall apart: Costello lost his job, and soon afterward his marriage fell apart.

come apart: The county health system is coming apart, and only a large investment of cash can save it.

tear something apart (=destroy an organization, country, etc.): Yugoslavia was being torn apart by ethnic conflicts.

apart from

1. ) except for someone or something:

I hardly know anyone in town apart from William and you.

2. ) in addition to someone or something:

Apart from providing humanitarian aid, the U.N. is also supposed to enforce agreements.

3. ) quite apart from used for saying that even if you ignore one thing, there is still another important fact or question to consider:

Quite apart from the fact that he has no qualifications, Mr. Berry is not a suitable person to work here.