dissect Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb cut open or cut apart
    • dissect the bodies for analysis
  2. verb make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features
    take apart; analyze; analyse; break down.
    • analyze a specimen
    • analyze a sentence
    • analyze a chemical compound

WordNet

Dis*sect" transitive verb
Etymology
L. dissectus, p. p. of dissecare; dis- + secare to cut. See Section.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Dissected; present participle & verbal noun Dissecting
Definitions
  1. (Anat.) To divide into separate parts; to cut in pieces; to separate and expose the parts of, as an animal or a plant, for examination and to show their structure and relations; to anatomize.
  2. To analyze, for the purposes of science or criticism; to divide and examine minutely.
    This paragraph . . . I have dissected for a sample. Atterbury.

Webster 1913