tear
1 Americannoun
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a drop of the saline, watery fluid continually secreted by the lacrimal glands between the surface of the eye and the eyelid, serving to moisten and lubricate these parts and keep them clear of foreign particles.
- Synonyms:
- teardrop
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this fluid appearing in or flowing from the eye as the result of emotion, especially grief.
to shed tears.
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something resembling or suggesting a tear, as a drop of a liquid or a tearlike mass of a solid substance, especially having a spherical or globular shape at one end and tapering to a point at the other.
little tears of morning dew.
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Glassmaking. a decorative air bubble enclosed in a glass vessel; air bell.
verb (used without object)
idioms
verb (used with object)
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to pull apart or in pieces by force, especially so as to leave ragged or irregular edges.
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to pull or snatch violently; wrench away with force.
to tear wrappings from a package; to tear a book from someone's hands.
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to distress greatly.
anguish that tears the heart.
- Synonyms:
- afflict, shatter, crack, break (one's) heart
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to divide or disrupt.
a country torn by civil war.
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to wound or injure by or as if by rending; lacerate.
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to produce or effect by rending.
to tear a hole in one's coat.
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to remove by force or effort.
to be unable to tear oneself from a place.
verb (used without object)
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to become torn.
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to make a tear or rent.
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to move or behave with force, violent haste, or energy.
The wind tore through the trees; cars tearing up and down the highway; I was tearing around all afternoon trying to find sandals for the beach.
noun
verb phrase
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tear off to perform or do, especially rapidly or casually.
to tear off a poem; to tear off a set of tennis.
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tear into
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to attack impulsively and heedlessly.
He tore into the food with a will.
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to attack verbally.
She tore into him for being late for dinner.
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tear down
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to pull down; destroy; demolish.
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to disparage or discredit.
to tear down one's friends behind their backs.
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tear at
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to pluck violently at; attempt to tear.
She tore at the bandages until they loosened.
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to distress; afflict.
remorse that tears at one's soul.
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tear up
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to tear into small shreds.
He tore up the drawings because she had criticized them.
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to cancel or annul.
to tear up a contract.
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idioms
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tear it, to ruin all hope; spoil everything.
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tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, anger, or frustration: Also tear one's hair out.
I'm so upset, I could just tear my hair out.
noun
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a drop of the secretion of the lacrimal glands See tears
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something shaped like a hanging drop
a tear of amber
verb
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to cause (material, paper, etc) to come apart or (of material, etc) to come apart; rip
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(tr) to make (a hole or split) in (something)
to tear a hole in a dress
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to hurry or rush
to tear along the street
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(tr; usually foll by away or from) to remove or take by force
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to cause pain, distress, or anguish (to)
it tore at my heartstrings to see the starving child
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informal to be angry, frustrated, very worried, etc
noun
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a hole, cut, or split
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the act of tearing
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a great hurry; rush
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slang showing a sudden burst of energy
Synonym Usage
Tear, rend, rip mean to pull apart. To tear is to split the fibers of something by pulling apart, usually so as to leave ragged or irregular edges: to tear open a letter. Rend implies force or violence in tearing apart or in pieces: to rend one's clothes in grief. Rip implies vigorous tearing asunder, especially along a seam or line: to rip the sleeves out of a coat.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tear1
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun ter(e), Old English tēar, tēor, tehher, taeher; cognate with Old High German zahar, Old Norse tār, Gothic tagr, Greek dákry, Latin lacrima; verb derivative of the noun; see also lachrymal
Origin of tear2
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb teren, ter(e), tern, Old English teran “to tear, rend, bite, lacerate,” cognate with Dutch teren, Old High German zeran “to destroy,” German zehren “to consume,” Gothic ga-tairan “to tear, destroy,” Greek dérein “to flay, skin”
Explanation
When you tear something, you rip it apart. You might tear a hole in your jeans if you catch them on something sharp, or you might tear up that love letter you wrote to your crush. The verb tear often refers to pulling something apart or making a hole — and has a noun form that describes the result of those actions — but it can also describe quick movement. If you tear out of the parking lot, you’re driving very fast. When you use tear in these ways, pronounce it to rhyme with hair. Another word, tear — what you do or produce when you cry — is spelled the same but pronounced to rhyme with peer.
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.
See Examples For:
The Bejaia region saw devastating fires tear through forest and farmland three years ago when 30 people were killed.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
“They’ll have to tear down stores,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Trump responded relatively civilly, calling Ossoff a “Pee-wee Herman look-alike” before going on a tear about the ballroom’s virtues.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Make the cornbread crumbs: While the squash cooks, tear the cornbread into roughly pebble-size pieces by hand, or pulse it briefly in a food processor.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
She’s smiling, but then a tear slips out of the corner of her eye and rolls down her face.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Measure in the flour, then add salt, yeast and diastatic malt to the bowl, pressing tare after each addition.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
As you cook the salmon and vegetables, whether it’s on a cast-iron griddle or a hot grill, stay close so you can keep turning the skewers and brushing them with your homemade tare.
From New York Times ● Aug. 6, 2022
He also had to deal with the unfortunate spoilage of his prized tare, the fermented, umami-rich sauce that Chiou had been nurturing since the neighborhood restaurant debuted last year.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 18, 2019
Each bag includes the tare weight to ensure you pay only for what you are buying.
From Slate ● May 7, 2018
Until Jade Dragon is no longer lonely and is reunited with at least one of her children, Fruitless Mountain will remain tare.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
Eastern Belgium has become Europe's most urgent fire front, with a vast blaze tearing through the High Fens nature reserve for the past four days.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The researchers speculate that the signal could come from a "stream" of material released by the star's core while the black hole's immense gravity was tearing it apart.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Firefighters battled a wildfire tearing through Belgium's largest nature reserve on Saturday, with the blaze described as the country's worst in recent history.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Prison guards would spend hours every weekend tearing literal holes in the walls of the housing units looking for spots where men might be storing their smartphones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The monsters shifted uneasily, snarling and tearing at the trees in frustration.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Instead, many pilgrims were caught in deadly floods that tore through the Nepal-Tibet region, wiping out entire villages.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
In October, he tore down the East Wing of the White House to make room for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Hours after the disaster tore through the border region with Tibet, some 403 visitors, including 341 foreign nationals, were still unaccounted for, according to the ministry of culture, tourism and civil aviation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Chargers rookie receiver Brenen Thompson made some headlines after the joint practice with the 49ers, saying of the San Francisco defense “we tore them up.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Torak tore himself free and staggered up the trail.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Nuuk and Copenhagen are also shedding light on several other painful chapters from the past, including children adopted without parental consent or torn from their families.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
He added that her loss was "devastating", and had "torn such a big hole in our lives".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
I have a full-time job, but now I’m torn about what to do next.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Ms. Dixon’s approach is affected, in part, by her being torn about her subject.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
By the time I reach the kitchen, I’ve torn the postcard to shreds.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
