dismantle

4 definitions • 8 examples

to take a machine apart or to come apart into separate pieces:

She dismantled the washing machine to see what the problem was, but couldn't put it back together again.

The good thing about the bike is that it dismantles if you want to put it in the back of the car.

to get rid of a system or organization, usually over a period of time:

Over the next three years, we will be gradually dismantling the company and selling off the profitable units.

Unions accuse the government of dismantling the National Health Service.

to show that a claim, statement or explanation is not true or correct:

If you disagree, then dismantle the argument with some sort of well-argued counter-proposition.

You need to sharpen your abilities to dismantle his excuses.

to take a machine or something complicated apart, usually to make it unable to work:

The government voted to dismantle its nuclear warheads.

They worried that dismantling the welfare state would increase poverty.