Meaning & use
disconnect
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To separate two things that were joined, such as a device from a power supply or a call from a line.
Grammar: Takes an object: disconnect the charger.
Patterns
- disconnect something from something
- disconnect something
Please disconnect the printer before moving it.
The company disconnected our phone line by mistake.
He disconnected the hose from the tap.
verbintransitivecomputing
To lose or end a link, especially a connection to the internet or to a call.
Grammar: No object: the call disconnected suddenly.
Patterns
- disconnect from something
My laptop keeps disconnecting from the wifi.
The call disconnected halfway through the meeting.
The player disconnected from the server.
verbintransitive
To stop feeling connected to people or to your surroundings, often to rest or avoid distraction.
Grammar: Often with from: disconnect from work.
Patterns
- disconnect from something
I turn off my phone in the evening to disconnect from work.
After the loss, she felt she had to disconnect for a while.
We went camping to disconnect from the news.
nounsingularinformal
A gap in understanding or agreement between two things or groups that ought to be linked.
Grammar: Usually a disconnect between two things, in informal business or news writing.
Patterns
- a disconnect between A and B
There is a disconnect between the company's words and its actions.
Teachers noticed a disconnect between the test and the lessons.
The disconnect between politicians and voters is growing.
Word forms
| third person singular | disconnects |
|---|---|
| past tense | disconnected |
| -ing form | disconnecting |
| plural noun | disconnects |
Common combinations
- disconnect from the internet
- The phone will disconnect from the internet if the signal is weak.
- disconnect the power
- Always disconnect the power before repairs.
- a growing disconnect
- There is a growing disconnect between students and the curriculum.
- disconnect a call
- The system disconnects a call after an hour.
- disconnect from reality
- He seemed to disconnect from reality when he was stressed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unplug
- Unplug means pull a plug out of a socket, so it fits electrical devices only.
- detach
- Detach means separate a part that was fixed on, as with a trailer, and need not involve cables.
- cut off
- Cut off is forceful and suggests stopping a supply such as water or power, often by someone else.
- gap
- Gap is a close match to the noun disconnect, but is a more ordinary and less business-like word.
Opposites
Word family
- disconnected adjective
- not connected, or feeling cut off
- disconnection noun
- the act or state of being disconnected
- connect verb
- to join or link
- reconnect verb
- to join again
Commonly confused: disconnect or disconnected?
disconnect vs disconnected
Disconnected is the adjective or past form, and is also used for thoughts that do not follow logically.
Practice
I keep losing my signal; my laptop ____ from the wifi every few minutes.
Choose one answer.
Disconnects from the wifi is the natural phrase for losing a network link. Unplugs and detaches suit physical parts, and separates is too general.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “disconnect”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.