Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) meets U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton upon her arrival at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Vladivostok September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mikhail Metzel.
Definition of dismantle. dismantled. dismantling. 1 : to disconnect the pieces of will have to dismantle the engine; also : to destroy the integrity or functioning of The program was later dismantled due to a lack of funding.
Occasionally it is better to remove parts, for example wooden knobs from a metal object, before cleaning. However, dismantling can be problematic. Some metal items are assembled under tension, so when a screw is removed the pieces spring apart and are difficult to reassemble.