rip up
Britishverb
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to tear (paper) into small pieces
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to annul, cancel, or unilaterally disregard
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to dig up, dig into, or remove (a surface)
they are ripping up the street
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was going to rip up the Wolverines’ roster and start from scratch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
The U.S. government has warned it will rip up its agreements with Anthropic if the AI startup fails to reach a deal with the Pentagon, according to the Financial Times.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026
Having conviction in a method is a sign of strong leadership and it would be odd to rip up three years of work and start again.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025
I got to rip up the chunky gravel Richard Martin trail through Elkmont, where locals served us chicken stew and banana pudding.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2025
I write her a dozen letters that I rip up after finishing, and prepare a dozen post-balloons that I don't have the courage to send.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
