tear
1 Americannoun
-
a drop of the saline, watery fluid continually secreted by the lacrimal glands between the surface of the eye and the eyelid, serving to moisten and lubricate these parts and keep them clear of foreign particles.
- Synonyms:
- teardrop
-
this fluid appearing in or flowing from the eye as the result of emotion, especially grief.
to shed tears.
-
something resembling or suggesting a tear, as a drop of a liquid or a tearlike mass of a solid substance, especially having a spherical or globular shape at one end and tapering to a point at the other.
little tears of morning dew.
-
Glassmaking. a decorative air bubble enclosed in a glass vessel; air bell.
verb (used without object)
idioms
verb (used with object)
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- afflict, shatter, crack, break (one's) 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)
-
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
verb phrase
-
tear off to perform or do, especially rapidly or casually.
to tear off a poem; to tear off a set of tennis.
-
tear into
-
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 down
-
to pull down; destroy; demolish.
-
to disparage or discredit.
to tear down one's friends behind their backs.
-
-
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 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, to ruin all hope; spoil everything.
-
tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, anger, or frustration: Also tear one's hair out.
I'm so upset, I could just tear my hair out.
noun
-
a drop of the secretion of the lacrimal glands See tears
-
something shaped like a hanging drop
a tear of amber
verb
-
to cause (material, paper, etc) to come apart or (of material, etc) to come apart; rip
-
(tr) to make (a hole or split) in (something)
to tear a hole in a dress
-
to hurry or rush
to tear along the street
-
(tr; usually foll by away or from) to remove or take by force
-
to cause pain, distress, or anguish (to)
it tore at my heartstrings to see the starving child
-
informal to be angry, frustrated, very worried, etc
noun
-
a hole, cut, or split
-
the act of tearing
-
a great hurry; rush
-
slang showing a sudden burst of energy
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tear1
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun ter(e), Old English tēar, tēor, tehher, taeher; cognate with Old High German zahar, Old Norse tār, Gothic tagr, Greek dákry, Latin lacrima; verb derivative of the noun; see also lachrymal
Origin of tear2
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb teren, ter(e), tern, Old English teran “to tear, rend, bite, lacerate,” cognate with Dutch teren, Old High German zeran “to destroy,” German zehren “to consume,” Gothic ga-tairan “to tear, destroy,” Greek dérein “to flay, skin”
Explanation
When you tear something, you rip it apart. You might tear a hole in your jeans if you catch them on something sharp, or you might tear up that love letter you wrote to your crush. The verb tear often refers to pulling something apart or making a hole — and has a noun form that describes the result of those actions — but it can also describe quick movement. If you tear out of the parking lot, you’re driving very fast. When you use tear in these ways, pronounce it to rhyme with hair. Another word, tear — what you do or produce when you cry — is spelled the same but pronounced to rhyme with peer.
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.
See Examples For:
Administrators later warned teachers there were a “LOT of mistakes” on pages 19 through 36 and instructed students to tear the pages out of their planners before taking them home.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
By modifying an open model’s weights—which encode knowledge and behavior—anyone can tear down its safety guardrails.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Usually, staff stage them as a tactical bait and switch: Once the block is cleared under the guise of safety, K9 units and search teams move in to tear through the empty cells.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter, Tom English, was equally impressed and saw a striker who can "tear up this league".
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
She tore through their apartment in a rage, pushing aside the salvaged set pieces they’d turned into furniture and pacing wildly, as though she was looking for something to tear apart.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Portioning ingredients with a scale means you can tare, or reset the scale to zero, after each addition and measure consecutively into a single bowl.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2020
He also has countless types of tare, the seasoning bases for ramen, none of which Yoo will discuss because these secret flavoring agents do most of the heavy lifting at noodle shops.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2020
Skewers of duck meatballs à l’orange with tare, a soy-based yakitori sauce, is just one of a dozen yakitori-style options that anchor the menu.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2019
Each bag includes the tare weight to ensure you pay only for what you are buying.
From Slate ● May 7, 2018
Until Jade Dragon is no longer lonely and is reunited with at least one of her children, Fruitless Mountain will remain tare.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
Eastern Belgium has become Europe's most urgent fire front, with a vast blaze tearing through the High Fens nature reserve for the past four days.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The researchers speculate that the signal could come from a "stream" of material released by the star's core while the black hole's immense gravity was tearing it apart.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Prison guards would spend hours every weekend tearing literal holes in the walls of the housing units looking for spots where men might be storing their smartphones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The site has also attracted blue herons, kingfishers, otters, deer, bears, California condors and a resident herd of elk notorious for tearing up new seedlings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
As usual, Jonah helped Dad with the grunt work — tearing stuff out and hammering stuff back in.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Nineteen houses were destroyed and more than a dozen others damaged after the blaze tore through dry grass as the UK recorded its hottest day of the year on 13 August.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Shorter said the Destination Crenshaw team tore up the streets in front of his church in 2023, which removed parking for his parishioners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Ford put the EcoBoost through its torture test simulating 160,000 miles and over 10 years of use, then at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, tore it down for the public to prove its durability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Its location was exposed only when it tore apart a passing star, producing a brief but powerful burst of light.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
This task finally tore Penelope’s mind away from her ruminations about how many degrees of dead there might be, and back to the bright, cozy nursery and the extremely lively children who lived there.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Researchers described the star as being "torn up" as the immense gravity of the black hole pulled it apart and consumed its material piece by piece.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
A torn copy of a notice announcing a cleanup of homeless encampments hangs from a stop sign along Grand Avenue at 51st Street in South Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Then I added the rigatoni and enough pasta water to turn the vegetables velvety, finishing each bowl with the crisp crumbs, little pillows of chèvre and torn basil.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Opponents have torn down some, according to business owners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The rusalka holding Anya stroked Anya’s hair; Anya was torn between trying to be pleasant so she didn’t offend the spirits and screaming until she lost her voice.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
