tear
1 Americannoun
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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
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this fluid appearing in or flowing from the eye as the result of emotion, especially grief.
to shed tears.
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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.
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Glassmaking. a decorative air bubble enclosed in a glass vessel; air bell.
verb (used without object)
idioms
verb (used with object)
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to pull apart or in pieces by force, especially so as to leave ragged or irregular edges.
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to pull or snatch violently; wrench away with force.
to tear wrappings from a package; to tear a book from someone's hands.
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to distress greatly.
anguish that tears the heart.
- Synonyms:
- afflict, shatter, crack, break (one's) heart
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to divide or disrupt.
a country torn by civil war.
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to wound or injure by or as if by rending; lacerate.
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to produce or effect by rending.
to tear a hole in one's coat.
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to remove by force or effort.
to be unable to tear oneself from a place.
verb (used without object)
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to become torn.
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to make a tear or rent.
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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
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tear off to perform or do, especially rapidly or casually.
to tear off a poem; to tear off a set of tennis.
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tear into
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to attack impulsively and heedlessly.
He tore into the food with a will.
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to attack verbally.
She tore into him for being late for dinner.
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tear down
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to pull down; destroy; demolish.
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to disparage or discredit.
to tear down one's friends behind their backs.
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tear at
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to pluck violently at; attempt to tear.
She tore at the bandages until they loosened.
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to distress; afflict.
remorse that tears at one's soul.
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tear up
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to tear into small shreds.
He tore up the drawings because she had criticized them.
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to cancel or annul.
to tear up a contract.
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idioms
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tear it, to ruin all hope; spoil everything.
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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.
verb
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to cause (material, paper, etc) to come apart or (of material, etc) to come apart; rip
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(tr) to make (a hole or split) in (something)
to tear a hole in a dress
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to hurry or rush
to tear along the street
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(tr; usually foll by away or from) to remove or take by force
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to cause pain, distress, or anguish (to)
it tore at my heartstrings to see the starving child
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informal to be angry, frustrated, very worried, etc
noun
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a hole, cut, or split
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the act of tearing
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a great hurry; rush
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slang showing a sudden burst of energy
noun
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a drop of the secretion of the lacrimal glands See tears
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something shaped like a hanging drop
a tear of amber
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:
To address a partial UCL tear, he was expected to undergo a hybrid internal brace procedure, which would set him up to return to catching full time in nine months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
The 31-year-old, who joined the Johannesburg-based Lions this summer, suffered a tear in the aorta, an artery which carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
After police officers had used megaphones to call on those gathered to desist from violence, they used water cannons and tear gas to temporarily disperse the crowd.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
After the 2023 law took effect, city inspectors issued him a number of violations, including for the door, which he then had to tear down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
She longed to tear out her braid, to let her hair fall loose.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
His nigiri is adorned with nothing more than a flicker of wasabi and a quick wash of tare.
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2021
Not only are they delicious, but they’re ingeniously efficient: A simple, homemade tare doubles as a marinade and a glaze for these blink-and-they’re-done skewers.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2019
Each bag includes the tare weight to ensure you pay only for what you are buying.
From Slate ● May 7, 2018
Plus, the sauce they’re served atop — a thick Japanese tare — is enhanced by the unctuous filling that spills out.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 9, 2017
By such lessons did I become acclimated to scientific calculation in even the meanest function, so learning the secrets of tare and gross.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Backup pilots safely landed the plane in Saudi Arabia after it dived at one point near the speed of sound, tearing away part of its rudder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Ellison snapped up the palatial pad back in 2021 for $80 million with the intention of tearing it down.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Now bend the paper into a cylinder without stretching or tearing it.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
After the fire entered the building, crews were forced to fight the flames from outside, tearing down walls so they could blast water cannons into the interior.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Then he cut long blades of tough crab grass, and sat cross-legged on the ground tearing the grass lengthwise so that each blade became many strands.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
He bought and tore down 10 of them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
District Judge Ana Reyes tore into government attorneys over the recent removal of trees around the course.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Indonesian wildlife authorities rescued 46 of the apes, which are critically endangered, before fires tore through their habitat in August and September.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
They also fed more frequently and for longer stretches as they tore apart, pulled at, manipulated, and consumed the carcasses.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
Poking a finger in one of the holes in my britches, I said, “I was running from those monkeys, Papa. I guess I got hung up in the bushes and tore my clothes a little.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Kessler said his love for the game of basketball grew so much after he was forced to miss 77 games last season recovering from having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
"They've torn down every house around me, I don't really have any neighbours," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
These occur when a star passes too close to a supermassive black hole and experiences such extreme gravitational forces that it is torn apart.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
She said there were no mold issues in the East building but that the shower curtains were torn and had developed mold and mildew.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The roofs of those hallways were torn off behind them as they went.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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