a portion or division of a whole that is separate or distinct; piece, fragment, fraction, or section; constituent: the rear part of the house; to glue the two parts together.
an essential or integral attribute or quality: a sense of humor is part of a healthy personality.
a section or division of a literary work.
a portion, member, or organ of an animal body.
any of a number of more or less equal quantities that compose a whole or into which a whole is divided: Use two parts sugar to one part cocoa.
an allotted portion; share.
Usually parts.
a region, quarter, or district: a journey to foreign parts.
a quality or attribute establishing the possessor as a person of importance or superior worth: Being both a diplomat and a successful businesswoman, she is widely regarded as a woman of parts.
either of the opposing sides in a contest, question, agreement, etc.
the dividing line formed in separating the hair of the head and combing it in different directions.
a constituent piece of a machine or tool either included at the time of manufacture or set in place as a replacement for the original piece.
Music.
the written or printed matter extracted from the score that a single performer or section uses in the performance of concerted music: a horn part.
a section or division of a composition: the allegro part of the first movement.
participation, interest, or concern in something; role: The neighbors must have had some part in planning the surprise party.
a person's share in or contribution to some action; duty, function, or office: You must do your part if we're to finish by tonight.
a character or role acted in a play or sustained in real life.
verb (used with object)
to divide (a thing) into parts; break; cleave; divide.
to comb (the hair) away from a dividing line.
to divide into shares; distribute in parts; apportion.
to put or keep apart; separate: They parted the calves from the herd.
Metallurgy.
to separate (silver) from gold in refining.
to cut (one part) away from a piece, as an end from a billet.
to keep the surface of (a casting) separate from the sand of the mold.
Obsolete. to leave.
verb (used without object)
to be or become divided into parts; break or cleave: The oil tanker parted amidships.
to go or come apart; separate, as two or more things.
to go apart from or leave one another, as persons: We'll part no more.
to be or become separated from something else (usually followed by from).
Nautical. to break or become torn apart, as a cable.
to depart.
to die.
adjective
partial; of a part: part owner.
adverb
in part; partly: part autobiographical.
Verb Phrases
part with,to give up (property, control, etc.); relinquish: to part with one's money.
Idioms for part
for one's part, as far as concerns one: For my part, you can do whatever you please.
for the most part, with respect to the greatest part; on the whole; generally; usually; mostly: They are good students, for the most part.
in good part,
without offense; in a good-natured manner; amiably: She was able to take teasing in good part.
to a great extent; largely: His success is in good part ascribable to dogged determination.
in part, in some measure or degree; to some extent; partly; partially: The crop failure was due in part to unusual weather conditions.
on the part of,
so far as pertains to or concerns one: He expressed appreciation on the part of himself and his colleagues.
as done or manifested by: attention on the part of the audience.
Also on one's part.
part and parcel, an essential, necessary, or integral part: Her love for her child was part and parcel of her life.
part company,
to bid farewell or go separate ways; leave one another.
to dissolve a personal affiliation, relationship, etc., especially because of irreconcilable differences.
to disagree.
take part, to participate; share or partake: They refused to take part in any of the activities of the community.
take someone's part, to align oneself with; support; defend: His parents took his part, even though he was obviously in the wrong.
Origin of part
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun (from Old French, from Latin ), Old English, from Latin part- (stem of pars ) “piece, portion”; Middle English verb parten, from Old French partir, from Latin partīre, derivative of pars
1. Part,piece,portion,segment,section,fraction,fragment refer to something that is less than the whole. Part is the general word: part of a house. A piece suggests a part which is itself a complete unit or it may mean an irregular fragment: a piece of pie; a piece of a broken vase. A portion is a part allotted or assigned to a person, purpose, etc.: a portion of food. A segment is often a part into which something separates naturally: a segment of an orange.Section suggests a relatively substantial, clearly separate part that fits closely with other parts to form a whole: a section of a fishing rod, a book.Fraction suggests a less substantial but still clearly delimited part, often separate from other parts: a fraction of his former income.Fragment suggests a broken, inconsequential, incomplete part, with irregular or imprecise outlines or boundaries: a fragment of broken pottery, of information.
OTHER WORDS FROM part
mul·ti·part,adjectivesubpart,noun
Words nearby part
Parsons table, pars plana, pars-planitis, pars tympanica, Parsva, part, part. adj., part. aeq., partake, partan, part and parcel