part
/pɑːt
/noun
1An amount or section which, when combined with others, makes up the whole of something: divide the circle into three equal parts the early part of 1999 body parts...
- The rule that a part equalled the whole day was not appropriate in this context.
- This was an idea enthusiastically taken up by the Fabians in the early part of the twentieth century.
- If defence is a challenge to make the parts equal an impressive whole then midfield is a minefield of talents and egos where someone is sure to get hurt.
Synonyms
bit, slice, chunk, lump, hunk, wedge, fragment, scrap, segment, piece;
portion, share, proportion, percentage, fraction, division, section
1.1An element or constituent that is essential to the nature of something: I was part of the family...
- I don't expect cats to be free of the wild instinct that's an essential part of their nature.
- Gambling is a fundamental part of human nature - we all take risks in daily life.
- Make the formation of a constitution a fundamental part of creating a community space.
1.2A manufactured object assembled with others to make a machine; a component: the production of aircraft parts...
- I let contracts for the manufacture of parts, assembled the sets in my apartment, and sold them however I could.
- The Rover company took over in 1941, using the building to manufacture aircraft parts for the war effort.
- That's just what researchers want for the mechanical parts of nanoscale machines.
Synonyms
component, bit, constituent, element, unit, module, ingredient
1.3A division of a book, periodical, or broadcast serial: this theme will be further explored in Parts Four and Five of the book Part Four of the series...
- Books were published in parts, as periodicals, with the added attraction of illustrations, for later binding.
- The judge said the publication of large parts of the book in News Limited newspapers largely destroyed the value of the material.
- The TV investigation, Running The Gauntlet, is being broadcast in two parts tonight and next week in the West Country.
Synonyms
section, division, component, volume, chapter, passage, act, scene, episode, instalment
1.4A measure allowing comparison between the amounts of different ingredients used in a mixture: use a mix of one part cement to five parts ballast...
- To get essential drainage if you don't have a rock wall, plant in a mixture of two parts sand or gravel to one part potting mix.
- Secure it into the soil at the nodes or bury a pot containing a mixture of equal parts sand and peat and secure the stem into this.
- Use sea salt for its mineral content and mix equal parts with olive or sweet almond oil.
2Some but not all of something: the painting tells only part of the story...
- The fact that a community may not get their quarterly statements in on time is only a part of the story.
- These may all be included in the journey of your life but they tell only a part of the story.
- Yes, they have injuries, but their bad luck is the lesser part of the story.
2.1A point on or area of something: hold the furthest part of your leg that you can reach...
- The site is in an area neighboring a residential part of the city, north of Harbin.
- The green shaded areas represent the parts of the minefield that have been cleared.
- Given the diameter of the field and the breadth of the river find the area of the non-flooded part of the field.
2.2 (parts) informal A region, especially one not clearly specified or delimited: those of you who jet off to foreign parts for your holidays...
- Not many die of old age in these parts, but they clearly do there.
- Almost everyone in these parts is linked directly or indirectly to the old steelworks, which lies like an open wound on the other side of the high street.
- She came up in these parts, and her grandmother, she says, made sure she knew the earth.
Synonyms
district, neighbourhood, quarter, section, area, region, sector, zone, belt, territory, locality
informal neck of the woods
3A role played by an actor or actress: she played a lot of leading parts he took the part of Prospero...
- No, my problem is finding actors and actresses to fill the parts.
- The aspiring actress has landed a part in Coronation Street and her new role is poles apart from her old life.
- Most of the time the dialogue is in the way of speaking of the actor/actress playing the part.
Synonyms
role, theatrical role, character, persona, representation, portrayal, depiction
3.1The words and directions to be learned and performed by an actor in a role: she was memorizing a part...
- For Karolina transvestitism is like acting in a male theatre in Japan, where the women are not allowed and men perform all the parts.
- So why the huge gulf between the actor's response to his part and the audience's interpretation?
Synonyms
lines, words, script, dialogue, speech, libretto, book, lyrics, score
3.2 Music A melody or other constituent of harmony assigned to a particular voice or instrument in a musical work: he coped well with the percussion part...
- You could assign the voice parts to instruments and lose nothing, and the form would become even clearer.
- Two parts are scored in treble clef and two parts in bass clef, with suggested instruments listed for each part.
- It acts in effect as a shorthand for reading the other orchestral and voice parts above the bass line and for playing the harmonies.
4The contribution made by someone or something to an action or situation: he played a key part in ending the revolt he may be jailed for his part in the robbery...
- Seek the Frozen Lands should hopefully play a big part in reversing that situation.
- For her part in the situation it had to be said that Edith tried a different route to get things changed.
- The National Party needs to accept that it has also played a part in this situation.
Synonyms
involvement, role, function, hand, job, task, work, responsibility, capacity, post, position, office, participation, bit, contribution, concern, province
4.1 (one's part) The appropriate or expected behaviour in a particular role or situation; one’s duty: in such a place his part is to make good
5 (parts) archaic Abilities.Their security doesn't depend on the might of their individual parts, but their ability to operate as a sum.
6North American A parting in the hair: the part in her hair was white and straight...
- It is they whom sport attempts to seduce with fashion shows and hot parts and haircuts.
- Straight parts and smooth ends flunked out as late-for-class looks rolled on to the runways.
verb
1 [no object] (Of two things) move away from each other: his lips parted in a smile...
- Madame raised her arms heavenward, her lips parting in a wide smile to reveal white, overly-straight teeth.
- ‘Hi, I'm Deacon,’ he said to her, his lips parting into a smile to show his straight, white teeth.
- His eyes stared up at me, his kohl eyeliner artfully smudged, his lips almost parting in a teasing smile.
1.1Divide to leave a central space: [no object]: at that moment the mist parted [with object]: she parted the ferns and looked between them...
- In the pre-dawn light the mist over the water parting briefly to offer a tiny glimpse of some prehistoric monster.
- The mist parted, and he saw the most hideous thing in his life.
- The mist parted as he cut through it and color poured in to fill the exposed ravines.
Synonyms
separate, divide, divide in two, split, split in two, break up;
move apart
rare disjoin
2 [no object] (also be parted) Leave someone’s company: there was a good deal of kissing before we parted she can’t bear to be parted from her daughter again...
- After all why would I want to be parted from my wife so soon?
- He refused to be parted from her, the student who'd saved his life.
- Well, it is a shame to be parted from you, Miss Hawthorne.
Synonyms
leave, take one's leave, say goodbye/farewell/adieu, say one's goodbyes, say/make one's farewells, separate, break up, go one's (separate) ways, take oneself off, set off, be on one's way, go, go away, get going, depart, be off
informal split, push off, hit the road, skedaddle, scram, shove off
3 [no object] (part with) Give up possession of; hand over: even quite small companies parted with large sums...
- The general rule is that a landlord who has parted with possession and control of the demised premises is not liable for nuisances arising on them.
- Every householder is willing to part with a fixed sum for modernisation of sewerage disposal.
- Nothing, it seems, is quite so intoxicating as watching other people part with vast sums of money.
Synonyms
give up, relinquish, forgo, surrender, hand over, deliver up, let go of, renounce, give away, dispose of, discard, abandon, sacrifice, yield, cede
4 [with object] Separate (the hair of the head on either side of the parting) with a comb: his hair was centrally parted...
- Her long, dark brown hair was parted on the side and pulled back in a ponytail and one could barely see her brown eyes for they were looking downward and hidden beneath dark lashes.
- After parting the hair on the side, she pulled it into a high ponytail, securing the bang with hair wax.
- Timothy parted Nadia's hair on the side which draws attention to her beautiful eyes.
adverb
To some extent; partly (often used to contrast different parts of something): the city is now part slum, part consumer paradise...
- Fargo is part episodic, at least, yet it manages to maintain tension and generate a drive through the story.
- Ian has taken a month's leave, part un-paid, to lend the Lilywhites his support.
- Will Airbus invest as heavily in its British factories as it did when there was part British ownership?
Synonyms
to a certain extent/degree, to a limited extent/degree, to some extent/degree, partly, partially, in part, half, in some measure, relatively, comparatively, moderately, (up) to a point, a little, somewhat;
not totally, not wholly, not entirely, not fully, incompletely, nearly, very nearly, almost, just about, all but;
slightly, barely, scarcely, fractionally, inadequately, insufficiently, not nearly
Phrases
be part and parcel of
for my (or his, her, etc.) part
in part
look the part
a man of (many) parts
on the part of (or on my, their, etc., part)
part company
part up (with)
take part
take the part of
Origin
Old English (denoting a part of speech), from Latin pars, part-. The verb (originally in Middle English in the sense 'divide into parts') is from Old French partir, from Latin partire, partiri 'divide, share'.
This is from Latin pars, part- ‘part’, the same Latin source that gave us depart (Middle English); particle (Late Middle English); particular (Late Middle English) ‘small part’ with the sense ‘attentive to detail’ developing E17th; participate ‘take part in’ (early 16th century); partisan (mid 16th century) ‘one who takes the part of’; partition (Late Middle English) ‘something that divides into parts’; and party (Middle English). This last was originally used in the sense of a political party, and only developed the social gathering sense in the early 18th century. Latin a parte ‘at the side’ gives us apart (Late Middle English), and via French, apartment (mid 17th century), while Latin impartare ‘give a share of’ gives us impart (Late Middle English) and impartial (late 16th century).