26984 words

separate

12 definitions • 24 examples
1

Examples:

The art department and the music department are in two separate buildings.
I try to keep meat separate from other food in the fridge.
I have my public life and my private life, and as far as possible I try to keep them separate.
Three youths have been shot and killed in separate incidents this month.
2
to (cause to) divide into parts:

Examples:

The north and south of the country are separated by a mountain range.
You can get a special device for separating egg whites from yolks.
The top and bottom sections are quite difficult to separate.
3
to make people move apart or into different places, or to move apart:

Examples:

At school they always tried to separate Jane and me because we were troublemakers.
Somehow, in the rush to get out of the building, I got separated from my mother.
Perhaps we should separate now and meet up later.
4
to consider two people or things as different or not related:

Examples:

You can't separate morality from politics.
5
If a liquid separates, it becomes two different liquids.
6
to start to live in a different place from your husband or wife because the relationship has ended:

Examples:

My parents separated when I was six and divorced a couple of years later.
7

Examples:

The middle school and the high school are in two separate buildings.
I have my public life and my private life, and as far as possible I try to keep them separate.
8
to cause two or more people or things to stop being with or near each other, or to be positioned between two or more things:

Examples:

[ T ] A six-foot-high wall separates ticket holders from those hoping to get tickets.
[ T ] Fighting broke out between two hockey players, and it took nearly five minutes to separate them.
9
If two married people separate, they stop living together as husband and wife, often as a part of a legal arrangement.
10
not together, joined, or connected:

Examples:

We realised that the best way to progress the project would be to set up a separate company.
We have separate bank accounts.
separate from sth The assets of the fund will be ring-fenced, which means they will be kept separate from the rest of the fund.
11
to divide into parts, or cause something to divide into parts:

Examples:

separate (sth) from sth They oppose the idea of Scotland separating from Britain.
separate sth into sth We separated the workspace into cubicles using screens.
separate a company/business
12
to consider two people or things as different or not connected:

Examples:

separate sth from sth These economic decisions cannot be separated from politics.
separate sth and sth I find it difficult to separate home and business.

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