verb (used with object),tore or (Archaic)tare,torn or (Archaic)tare,tear·ing.
to pull apart or in pieces by force, especially so as to leave ragged or irregular edges.
to pull or snatch violently; wrench away with force: to tear wrappings from a package; to tear a book from someone's hands.
to distress greatly: anguish that tears the heart.
to divide or disrupt: a country torn by civil war.
to wound or injure by or as if by rending; lacerate.
to produce or effect by rending: to tear a hole in one's coat.
to remove by force or effort: to be unable to tear oneself from a place.
verb (used without object),tore or (Archaic)tare,torn or (Archaic)tare,tear·ing.
to become torn.
to make a tear or rent.
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
the act of tearing.
a rent or fissure.
a rage or passion; violent flurry or outburst.
Informal. a spree.
Verb Phrases
tear at,
to pluck violently at; attempt to tear: She tore at the bandages until they loosened.
to distress; afflict: remorse that tears at one's soul.
tear down,
to pull down; destroy; demolish.
to disparage or discredit: to tear down one's friends behind their backs.
tear into, Informal.
to attack impulsively and heedlessly: He tore into the food with a will.
to attack verbally: She tore into him for being late for dinner.
tear off, Slang. to perform or do, especially rapidly or casually: to tear off a poem; to tear off a set of tennis.
tear up,
to tear into small shreds: He tore up the drawings because she had criticized them.
to cancel or annul: to tear up a contract.
Idioms
tear it, Slang. to ruin all hope; spoil everything.
tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, anger, or frustration: I'm so upset, I could just tear my hair out.Also tear one's hair out.
Origin of tear
2
before 900;Middle Englishteren (v.), Old Englishteran; cognate with Dutchteren,Germanzehren to consume, Gothicdistairan to destroy, Greekdérein to flay
Related formstear·a·ble, adjectivetear·a·ble·ness, nountear·er, nounun·tear·a·ble, adjective
Synonym study
1. 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.
1650s, mainly in American English, from tear (n.1). Related: Teared; tearing. Old English verb tæherian did not survive into Middle English.
tear
n.2
"act of ripping or rending," 1660s, from tear (v.1).
tear
n.1
"water from the eye," Old English tear, from earlier teahor, tæhher, from Proto-Germanic *takh-, *tagr- (cf. Old Norse, Old Frisian tar, Old High German zahar, German Zähre, Gothic tagr "tear"), from PIE *dakru-/*draku- (cf. Latin lacrima, Old Latin dacrima, Irish der, Welsh deigr, Greek dakryma). Tear gas first recorded 1917.
tear
v.1
"pull apart," Old English teran (class IV strong verb; past tense tær, past participle toren), from Proto-Germanic *teran (cf. Old Saxon terian, Middle Dutch teren "to consume," Old High German zeran "to destroy," German zehren, Gothic ga-tairan "to tear, destroy"), from PIE *der- "tear" (cf. Sanskrit drnati "cleaves, bursts," Greek derein "to flay," Armenian terem "I flay," Old Church Slavonic dera "to burst asunder," Breton darn "piece").
The Old English past tense survived long enough to get into Bible translations as tare before giving place 17c. to tore, which is from the old past participle toren. Sense of "to pull by force" (away from some situation or attachment) is attested from late 13c. To be torn between two things (desires, loyalties, etc.) is from 1871.
A drop of the clear salty liquid secreted by glands (lacrimal glands) in the eyes. Tears wet the membrane covering the eye and help rid the eye of irritating substances.
