tear - Dictionary definition and pronunciation

tear ¹

(târ) KEY

VERB:
tore (tôr, t

r) KEY , torn (tôrn, t

rn) KEY , tear·ing , tears
VERB:
tr.

To pull apart or into pieces by force; rend.
To make (an opening) by ripping: tore a hole in my stocking.
To lacerate (the skin, for example).
To separate forcefully; wrench: tore the wrappings off the present.
To divide or disrupt: was torn between opposing choices; a country that was torn by strife.

VERB:
intr.

To become torn.
To move with heedless speed; rush headlong.

NOUN:

The act of tearing.
The result of tearing; a rip or rent.
A great rush; a hurry.
Slang A carousal; a spree.

PHRASAL VERBS:
tear around Informal

To move about in excited, often angry haste.
To lead a wild life.

tear at

To pull at or attack violently: The dog tore at the meat.
To distress greatly: Their plight tore at his heart.

tear away

To remove (oneself, for example) unwillingly or reluctantly.

tear down

To demolish: tear down old tenements.
To take apart; disassemble: tear down an engine.
To vilify or denigrate.

tear into

To attack with great vigor or violence: tore into the food; tore into his opponent.

tear off Informal

To produce hurriedly and casually: tearing off article after news article.

tear up

To tear to pieces.
To make an opening in: tore up the sidewalk to add a drain.

IDIOM:
tear (one's) hair

To be greatly upset or distressed.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English teren, from Old English teran; see der- in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
tearer (Noun)

SYNONYMS:
tear ¹ , rip ¹ , rend , split , cleave ¹

These verbs mean to separate or pull apart by force. Tear involves pulling something apart or into pieces: "She tore the letter in shreds" (Edith Wharton). Rip implies rough or forcible tearing: Carpenters ripped up the old floorboards. Rend usually refers to violent tearing or wrenching apart: "Come as the winds come, when/Forests are rended" (Sir Walter Scott). To split is to cut or break something into parts or layers, especially along its entire length or along a natural line of division: "They [wood stumps] warmed me twiceonce while I was splitting them, and again when they were on the fire" (Henry David Thoreau). Cleave most often refers to splitting with or as if with a sharp instrument: The butcher cleft the side of beef into smaller portions.

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