parts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of part.

   The factory makes replacement parts for old tractors.

   She laid out all the parts of the model plane before starting.

   Note

   A regular plural that counts very different things: replacement components, shares of a profit, groups within a group, and the units of a recipe, as in two parts water to one part syrup. The plural also carries meanings the singular never had. The "region" sense and the old word for talent exist only as parts.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of part.

   The heavy velvet curtain parts to reveal the stage.

   He parts from his family every Monday for the long commute.

   Note

   Spelled exactly like the noun plural, so only the sentence tells them apart: the crowd parts is a verb, and the parts arrived is a noun. The verb can be transitive or intransitive. She parts her hair on the left takes an object, while the curtain parts for the actors does not. When it means leaving someone, it takes from.

3. 3
   nouncolloquialcountableplural

   A particular region or surrounding area, especially the one near someone.

   You won't find a finer baker anywhere in these parts.

   Strangers rarely settle in these parts for long.

   Similarareas, regions

   Note

   Nearly always found with these, and always plural: in these parts, never in this part, for the speaker's own surroundings. The phrase is older than its homely ring suggests. Lord Cockburn uses it in 1854 when he complains of the weather keeping him away from Leamington. It sounds conversational rather than formal, so it suits speech and relaxed writing best.

4. 4
   nouneuphemisticcountableplural

   A polite or indirect word for the genitals.

   He took a hard knock to the parts during the rugby match and doubled over.

   At the old swimming hole the men turned their backs to hide their parts.

   Similarprivates, genitals

   Note

   Private parts with its adjective dropped. The shortening is the point, because the word names the genitals by not naming them. It works only when the context makes the meaning plain, such as a blow in a rugby match or a modest bather. In a sentence about machines or puzzles, the reader will take it as the ordinary plural.

5. 5
   nouncountableplural

   Natural mental ability, talent, or acquired learning.

   A man of his parts could have risen to the top of any profession.

   The tutor recognized the boy's parts and steered him toward the law.

   Similartalents, abilities, gifts, accomplishments

   Note

   Talent here is counted only in the plural. A person is never said to have a part of this kind, only parts. Its natural home is the phrase a man of great parts. It is often set against some lack, as in great parts but little virtue, so that the word praises the mind while leaving the character open to question.

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