part

Pronunciation: /pɑːt/

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Definition of part

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
an element or constituent that is essential to the nature of something:I was part of the family
a manufactured object assembled with others to make a machine; a component:the production of aircraft parts
a 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
a measure allowing comparison between the amounts of different ingredients used in a mixture:use a mix of one part cement to five parts ballast

2some but not all of something:the painting tells only part of the story
a point on or area of something:hold the furthest part of your leg that you can reach
(parts) informal a region, especially one not clearly specified or delimited:those of you who jet off to foreign parts for your holidays

3a role played by an actor or actress:she played a lot of leading parts he took the part of Prospero
the words and directions to be learned and performed by an actor in a role:she was memorizing a part
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

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
(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.

6North American a parting in the hair: the part in her hair was white and straight

verb

1 [no object] (of two things) move away from each other:his lips parted in a smile
divide to leave a central space: [no object]:at that moment the mist parted [with object]:she parted the ferns and looked between them

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

3 [no object] (part with) give up possession of; hand over:even quite small companies parted with large sums

4 [with object] separate (the hair of the head on either side of the parting) with a comb: his hair was centrally parted

adverb

to some extent; partly (often used to contrast different parts of something):the city is now part slum, part consumer paradise

Phrases

be part and parcel of: be an essential feature or element of:it’s best to accept that some inconveniences are part and parcel of travel
[parcel here is in archaic sense 'part, portion']
for my (or his, her, etc.) part: as far as I am (or he, she, etc., is) concerned:I for my part find the story less than convincing
in part: to some extent though not entirely:the cause of the illness is at least in part psychological
look the part: have an appearance or style of dress appropriate to one’s role or situation: he had been a major in an infantry regiment and he looked the part
a man of (many) parts: a man with great ability in many different areas: he was a man of parts—a painter, Egyptologist, and biographer
on the part of (or on my, their, etc., part): used to ascribe responsibility for something to someone:there was a series of errors on my part
part company: (of two or more people) cease to be together; go in different directions:they parted company outside the Red Lion; (of two or more parties) cease to associate with each other, especially as the result of a disagreement:the chairman has parted company with the club
take part: join in an activity; be involved:we have come here to take part in a major game they ran away and took no part in the battle
take the part of: British give support and encouragement to (someone) in a dispute: her sister was the one person who had always taken her part

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'

part in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of part in the US English dictionary

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Other

part

noun

verb

adverb

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

take part

take the part of

Origin:

part in other Oxford dictionaries

Nearby words

More results for part

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