tearing
1 Americanadjective
adjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tearing1
before 1000; Old English tæherende (not recorded in ME); see tear 1, -ing 2
Origin of tearing2
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.
Appeared in the August 5, 2025, print edition as 'The Teenagers Tearing Up The 100-Meter Race'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 2, 2025
Tearing up when he testified earlier this month, he said he’d not only lost money but trust.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 30, 2024
"Tearing down the barriers that restricted women was the core of her philosophy and motivation," he wrote.
From BBC • Jul. 23, 2023
Tearing up, John said he was “flabbergasted and humbled.”
From Washington Times • Sep. 23, 2022
And we feed away in a sociable rank Tearing the grass with a sideways yank.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
