verb

dissect

dih-SEKT/dɪˈsekt/

To take something apart for detailed examination.

Biology students dissect a flower to study its internal structure.

A biology student carefully cuts open a large lily flower on a laboratory dissection tray, exposing its internal structures for close study.

Etymology

Cutting apart lets someone study the separate structures of an animal or plant. The same idea extends to examining an argument or other subject part by part, without any literal cutting.

In context

DaNotoriouzNatty 7:45

This is where we have to dissect the language used in official documents.

IndiVisible: The Hidden History of African-Native American Lives

More examples

We dissected a frog in biology class.
The coach dissects each play to explain what went wrong.
They spend the afternoon dissecting every detail of the proposal.

Forms

dissect · dissects · dissected · dissecting

dissection noun — Detailed examination by cutting apart or analyzing.

Similar words

analyze: Emphasizes understanding components or relationships, not physically cutting apart.
examine: Means inspect closely, without necessarily separating into individual parts.