separates

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of separate.

   A narrow strait separates the island from the mainland.

   The sorting machine separates recyclable material from ordinary trash.

   Note

   The -s form belongs to a singular subject in the present tense: a strait, a machine, a mixture. It works in two directions. Used transitively, it usually pairs with from, as in a strait that separates the island from the mainland. Used intransitively, the thing divides itself, as when a sauce separates into layers. The base form separate covers I, you, we and they, and the infinitive.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of separate.

   Coordinated separates let shoppers build a wardrobe one piece at a time.

   The designer's spring line favored versatile separates over full dresses.

   Note

   In retail and fashion, separates are pieces sold on their own, such as blouses, skirts, jackets and pants, and the noun normally appears in the plural because the point is mixing them. The same plural also names offprints: articles from a periodical printed as their own publications, often with new page numbers. Do not confuse it with the verb form. The noun takes a determiner (versatile separates), while the verb takes an object (it separates the two).

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