Showing results for tear it. Search instead for tear+it.

tear it

Idioms

Ruin something, spoil one's chances, as in She knew she'd torn it when she lost the address. It is often put as that tears it, as in He's a whole week late—well, that tears it for the September issue. [Colloquial; early 1900s]

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.

Their latest attempt to rectify that situation with Justin Fields has gone so disastrously that general manager Darren Mougey, in his first year in charge, felt compelled to tear it all down.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025

The Crown Estate Commission gave her permission to tear it down and rebuild in the iconic red brick Georgian style that remains today.

From BBC • Sep. 16, 2025

“The Rat Race” is a nod at Carrie’s discovery that her courtyard’s garden is infested with vermin, forcing her to tear it out and start over.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2025

Unlike a rock, human tissue has a small amount of tension, so a PBH would not tear it apart.

From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2024

“So you can tear it up into litde pieces as soon as I leave?”

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023