tear

tear1 [ ter ] (past tense tore [ tɔr ] ; past participle torn [ tɔrn ] ) verb **

1. ) intransitive or transitive to pull something so that it separates into pieces or gets a hole in it, or to become damaged in this way: RIP:

It's made of very thin material that tears easily.

He'd torn his raincoat.

tear a hole in something: I've torn a hole in my sweater!

tear something to pieces/bits/shreds: Mary tore the letter to pieces without reading it.

tear something in two: Reynolds tore the contract in two.

a ) transitive to accidentally damage cloth, paper, etc. with something sharp or by getting it stuck on something:

tear something on something: I must have torn my sleeve on that nail.

b ) transitive to damage something such as a muscle by stretching it until it pulls apart:

I tore a muscle playing football.

c ) tear something open to open something such as an envelope or package quickly by tearing the paper covering it:

Caroline tore the envelope open to see what was inside.

2. ) transitive to remove something by pulling it away from something else with force:

tear something out/off/away from etc.: You'll need to tear the old wallpaper off the walls.

The storm had torn the old tree up by the roots.

3. ) intransitive to move somewhere very quickly, especially in an excited or uncontrolled way:

tear into/off/past etc: Those kids are always tearing around here on their bicycles.

be torn by something

1. ) MAINLY JOURNALISM if a place or group of people is torn by an unpleasant event or situation, it is very seriously affected by it:

an area torn by civil war

2. ) MAINLY LITERARY to be affected strongly by an unpleasant emotion:

I was torn by guilt.

tear someone's heart out/tear at someone's heart LITERARY

to make someone feel very sad or upset

tear someone limb from limb INFORMAL

to attack someone violently:

If I find out he did it, I'll tear him limb from limb.

tear someone/something to pieces/shreds

1. ) to criticize someone or something very severely:

Was it really necessary to tear his work to pieces like that?

2. ) to defeat or destroy someone or something easily:

They tore our defense to shreds.

torn between

unable to decide which of two people or things you want most:

Many women feel torn between having a family or a career.

=> HAIR

,tear a`part phrasal verb transitive

1. ) to damage or destroy something completely by breaking it into pieces:

The building was torn apart by the explosion.

2. ) to make people argue and damage their relationship:

This issue is tearing their marriage apart.

3. ) to make someone feel very sad, upset, or worried:

It just tears me apart to see you suffering like this.

4. ) to search a room or building very thoroughly, moving things in a careless way that causes damage:

The police tore the place apart looking for the money.

5. ) to criticize someone or something very strongly

`tear at phrasal verb transitive

tear at something to pull very strongly at something:

The wind tore at her hair.

,tear a`way phrasal verb transitive

tear someone/something away to force yourself or someone else to leave or stop doing something:

tear yourself away (from someone/something): Sorry, said Douglas, tearing himself away from the television.

tear your eyes/gaze away from someone/something: She was unable to tear her eyes away from him.

,tear `down phrasal verb transitive

to destroy or remove a structure or part of a structure:

That old house should have been torn down years ago.

`tear ,into phrasal verb transitive

1. ) tear into someone/something to physically attack someone or something:

He tore into the other kid, punching him furiously.

2. ) tear into something to start doing something with a lot of energy or enthusiasm:

The girls tore into their chores and were finished within an hour.

3. ) tear into someone/something to criticize someone or something very angrily:

She really tore into me for forgetting to send it.

,tear `off phrasal verb transitive

1. ) to remove your clothes quickly and carelessly:

The boys tore off their clothes and jumped into the water.

2. ) BRITISH INFORMAL to write something quickly

,tear `up phrasal verb transitive

1. ) to destroy something such as a piece of paper or cloth by pulling it into pieces:

I tore up all the photos of my ex-boyfriend.

2. ) to damage or destroy something by attacking it violently

3. ) tear someone up to make someone feel very unhappy or upset:

It tears me up to leave you.

4. ) to refuse to accept something such as an agreement any longer:

We will tear up the whole treaty rather than accept this clause.

tear

tear 2 [ tır ] noun count **

a drop of liquid that comes from your eye when you cry:

Her eyes filled with tears.

shed tears (=cry): Despite his grief he shed no tears.

tears of joy/laughter/rage etc.: She welcomed Kevin with tears of joy when he returned home.

a. tears plural the state of crying:

in tears (=crying): I was left standing there in tears.

burst into tears (=start crying suddenly): She slammed the phone down and burst into tears.

close/near to tears (=almost crying): I was near to tears when she said goodbye.

on the verge of tears (=almost crying): Colin saw I was on the verge of tears.

fight back (the) tears (=try hard not to cry): She fought back the tears as she told us the dreadful news.

reduce/move someone to tears (=make someone cry): He was well known for reducing his staff to tears.

bring a tear to someone's eye

to make someone almost cry

=> BLOOD

tear

tear 3 [ ter ] noun count *

a hole in a piece of paper, cloth, etc. where it has been torn:

It's not a bad tear we should be able to mend it.

tear in: There was a tear in her coat.

=> WEAR AND TEAR

tear

tear 4 [ tır ] verb intransitive

if your eyes tear, they produce tears:

Her eyes were tearing from the cold.

,tear `up phrasal verb intransitive

to almost start crying:

Don began to tear up when he talked about his son.