Definition of tear1

tear1verb

xé 1

/teə(r)//ter/

Word OriginOld English teran, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch teren and German zehren, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek derein ‘flay’. The noun dates from the early 17th cent.

damage

to damage something by pulling it apart or into pieces or by cutting it on something sharp; to become damaged in this way

Example:
  • I tore my jeans on the fence.
  • I tore a hole in my jeans.
  • He tore the letter in two.
  • I tore the picture into pieces.
  • The letter had been torn to shreds.
  • His clothes were badly torn.
  • Careful—the fabric tears very easily.
  • I tore the package open.
  • I tore open the package.
Extra examples:
  • The fabric snagged and tore at the seams.
  • His jacket had been torn to shreds on the barbed wire.

Related words and phrases

to make a hole in something by force

Example:
  • The blast tore a hole in the wall.

Related words and phrases

remove from something/somebody

to remove something from something else by pulling it roughly or violently

Example:
  • The storm nearly tore the roof off.
  • I tore another sheet from the pad.
  • He tore his clothes off (= took them off quickly and carelessly) and dived into the lake.
Extra examples:
  • an article torn from a magazine
  • Several pages had been torn out of the book.
  • She tore the label off the suitcase.
  • Our posters were torn down as quickly as we could put them up.

Related words and phrases

to pull yourself/somebody away by force from somebody/something that is holding you or them

Example:
  • She tore herself from his grasp.
  • He tore himself free.
  • One error and he would have been torn loose and hurled overboard by the squalling wind.
injure muscle

to injure a muscle, etc. by stretching it too much

Example:
  • a torn ligament/muscle
  • She's torn a ligament in her right hand.
  • She tore a calf muscle playing squash.
move quickly

to move somewhere very quickly or in an excited way

Example:
  • He tore off down the street.
  • A truck tore past the gates.
Extra examples:
  • The girls looked at each other and tore off towards the house.
  • A dog was tearing along the road beside the truck.
-torn

very badly affected or damaged by something

Example:
  • to bring peace to a strife-torn country
  • a strike-torn industry

Related words and phrases

Idioms

be torn (between A and B)
to be unable to decide or choose between two people, things or feelings
  • I was torn between my parents and my friend.
    • pick/pull/tear somebody/something to pieces/shreds
    (informal)to criticize somebody, or their work or ideas, very severely
    tear somebody/something apart, to shreds, to bits, etc.
    to destroy or defeat somebody/something completely or criticize them or it severely
  • We tore the other team apart in the second half.
  • The critics tore his last movie to shreds.
    • tear at your heart | tear your heart out
    (formal)to strongly affect you in an emotional way
    tear your hair (out)
    (informal)to show that you are very angry or anxious about something
  • She's keeping very calm—anyone else would be tearing their hair out.
  • I felt like tearing my hair out in frustration.
    • tear/rip the heart out of something
    to destroy the most important part or aspect of something
  • Closing the factory tore the heart out of the community.
    • (be in) a tearing hurry/rush
    (especially British English)(to be) in a very great hurry
    tear/rip somebody limb from limb
    (often humorous)to attack somebody very violently
    tear somebody off a strip | tear a strip off somebody
    (British English, informal)to speak angrily to somebody who has done something wrong
    that’s torn it
    (British English, informal)used to say that something has happened to cause your plans to fail