tear at
Idioms-
Pull at or attack violently, as in Jane eagerly tore at the wrapping paper , or The dog tore at the meat . [Mid-1800s]
-
Distress, as in Their plight tore at his heart .
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.
Indeed, the winger successfully returned eight months after a previous ACL tear at Watford in 2020.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2026
I mean even though this is a depressing opera, the music is thrilling and I know I’m going to shed a tear at the end.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2025
The study also finds evidence for a vertical fracture, or tear, at the boundary between the peeled-apart section of the slab and its intact neighbor.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 9, 2024
It will cut its laughs with pathos and plump for a tear at the end.
From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2023
He squatted down in the tall grass, remembered the meat that Sam had given him, and began to tear at it ravenously.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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.
