tears

/ tɪəz /

plural noun

1. the clear salty solution secreted by the lacrimal glands that lubricates and cleanses the surface of the eyeball and inner surface of the eyelids

2. a state of intense frustration (esp in the phrase bored to tears )

3. weeping

4. presented so as to be easily assimilated

   reading without tears

Idioms and Phrases

see bore to death (tears); burst into (tears); crocodile tears. Also see under tear.

Example Sentences

She broke into tears as she embraced friends and family, having delivered on the promise shown in breaking world junior records.

From BBC

The following summer, Crookes played Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage for the first time, bursting into tears at the scale of the occasion.

From BBC

“This film made his life mean something,” she says, barely holding back tears.

From Los Angeles Times

Two hamstring tears later, she secured back-to-back wins in her only two pre-championship races in August.

From BBC

While he acknowledges that viewers might be initially thrown, he hopes they embrace his transition from tears to fears.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• break 
• crack 
• damage 
• divide 
• grab 
• injure 
• mangle 
• pull 
• rive 
• rupture 
• separate 
• sever 
• shred 
• slash 
• snatch 
• split 
• wrench 
• yank