tear

Use tear in a sentence

A man tears some papers.

noun

The definition of a tear is the result of something being pulled or ripped apart.
An example of tear is a separation in the seam of a dress.
Tear is defined as a salty liquid produced by the eye gland used to lubricate the eyes, wash away irritants or express intense emotion.
An example of tear is what comes out of the eyes when someone is crying.

verb

Tear means to pull or force something up or apart or rip into two or more pieces.
1. An example of tear is pulling pages out of a magazine.
2. An example of tear is a pair of jeans being split in two.

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"tear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR>.

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tear. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR

tear

transitive verb

tore, torn, tear′ing

to pull apart or separate into pieces by force; rip or rend (cloth, paper, etc.)
to make or cause by tearing or puncturing: to tear a hole in a dress
to wound by tearing; lacerate: skin torn and bruised
to force apart or divide into factions; disrupt; split: ranks torn by dissension
to divide with doubt, uncertainty, etc.; agitate; torment: a mind torn between duty and desire
to remove by or as by tearing, pulling, etc.: with up, out, away, off, etc.: to tear a plant up by its roots, to tear oneself away

Origin of tear

Middle English teren from Old English teran, to rend, akin to German zehren, to destroy, consume from Indo-European base an unverified form der-, to skin, split from source drab, derma

to be torn
to move violently or with speed; dash

the act of tearing
the result of a tearing; torn place; rent
a rushing pace; great hurry
see wear and tear
Slang a carousal; spree

tear Idioms

tear at

to make violent, pulling motions at in an attempt to tear or remove

tear down

to wreck or demolish (a building, etc.)
to dismantle or take apart: to tear down an engine
to cause to disintegrate
to controvert or disprove (an argument, etc.) point by point

tear into

Informal to attack impetuously and, often, devastatingly

tear it

Slang to be that which brings about final failure, defeat, frustration, loss of patience, etc.: that tears it!

a drop of the salty fluid secreted by the lacrimal gland to lubricate the eyeball, kill bacteria, etc.: in humans, tears may flow for emotional reasons due to the tightening of muscles near the glands
anything resembling this, as a drop of transparent gum; tearlike mass
[pl.] sorrow; grief

Origin of tear

Middle English tere from Old English t?ar, teagor, akin to German zähre from Indo-European an unverified form da?ru, tear from source Old Latin dacrima (from source Classical Latin lacrima), Classical Greek dakryon

to fill with tears

tear Idioms

in tears

crying; weeping

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"tear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR>.

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tear. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR

tear

verb

tore, torn, tear·ing, tears

verb

transitive

a. To pull apart or into pieces by force; rend.
b. To cause to be pulled apart unintentionally, as by accident: tore my pants on the barbed wire.
c. To lacerate (the skin, for example).
To make (an opening) in something by pulling it apart or by accident: I tore a hole in my stocking.
To separate forcefully; wrench: tore the pipe from the wall.
To divide or disrupt: was torn between opposing choices; a country that was torn by strife.

verb

intransitive

To become torn: The fabric does not tear easily.
To move with heedless speed; rush headlong: tore off down the road; tore along the avenue.

noun

The act of tearing.
The result of tearing; a rip or rent: The shirt has a small tear.
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 energy: tore into his opponent. To begin to do or eat something with great energy: tore into the meal. 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.

Origin of tear

Middle English teren from Old English teran ; see der- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

tear′er
noun

noun

a. A drop of the clear salty liquid that is secreted by the lachrymal gland of the eye to lubricate the surface between the eyeball and eyelid and to wash away irritants.
b. tears A profusion of this liquid spilling from the eyes and wetting the cheeks, especially as an expression of emotion.
c. tears The act of weeping: criticism that left me in tears.
A drop of a liquid or hardened fluid.

intransitive verb

teared, tear·ing, tears

To become filled with tears: The strong wind caused my eyes to tear.

Phrasal Verbs: tear up To have tears well in the eyes: At the funeral, the mourners began to tear up. To cause to have tears well in the eyes: By the movie's end, the whole audience was teared up.

Origin of tear

Middle English ter from Old English tēar ; see dakru- in Indo-European roots.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"tear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR>.

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tear. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR

A drop of the clear salty liquid secreted by glands (lacrimal glands) in the eyes. Tears wet the membrane covering the eye and help rid the eye of irritating substances.

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tear

tear ¹rip ¹rend 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 twice—once 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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"tear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR>.

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tear. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR

Verb

(third-person singular simple present tears, present participle tearing, simple past tore, past participle torn)

To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.
He tore his coat on the nail.
To injure as if by pulling apart.
He has a torn ligament.
He tore some muscles in a weight-lifting accident.
To cause to lose some kind of unity or coherence.
He was torn by conflicting emotions.
To make (an opening) with force or energy.
A piece of debris tore a tiny straight channel through the satellite.
His boss will tear him a new one when he finds out.
The artillery tore a gap in the line.
(often with off or out) To remove by tearing.
Tear the coupon out of the newspaper.
(of structures, with down) To demolish
The slums were torn down to make way for the new development.
(intransitive) To become torn, especially accidentally.
My dress has torn.
(intransitive) To move or act with great speed, energy, or violence.
He went tearing down the hill at 90 miles per hour.
The tornado lingered, tearing through town, leaving nothing upright.
He tore into the backlog of complaints.
(intransitive) To smash or enter something with great force.
The chain shot tore into the approaching line of infantry.

Related terms

tear up
that's torn it
wear and tear
retear

Noun

(plural tears)

A hole or break caused by tearing.
A small tear is easy to mend, if it is on the seam.

Origin

From Middle English teren, from Old English teran (“to tear, lacerate"), from Proto-Germanic *teranÄ… (“to tear, tear apart, rip"), from Proto-Indo-European *derÇ- (“to tear, tear apart"). Cognate with Scots tere, teir, tair (“to rend, lacerate, wound, rip, tear out"), Dutch teren (“to eliminate, efface, live, survive by consumption"), German zehren (“to consume, misuse"), German zerren (“to tug, rip, tear"), Danish tÃ¦re (“to consume"), Swedish tÃ¤ra (“to fret, consume, deplete, use up"), Icelandic tÃ¦ra (“to clear, corrode"). Outside Germanic, cognate to Ancient Greek Î´ÎÏÏ‰ (derÅ, “to skin"), Albanian ther (“to slay, skin, pierce").

Noun

(plural tears)

A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation.
There were big tears rolling down Lisa's cheeks.
Ryan wiped the tear from the paper he was crying on.
Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins.
That which causes or accompanies tears; a lament; a dirge.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present tears, present participle tearing, simple past and past participle teared)

(intransitive) To produce tears.
Her eyes began to tear in the harsh wind.

Origin

From Middle English teer, ter, tere, tear, from Old English tÄ“ar, tÇ£r, tÃ¦hher, teagor, *teahor (“drop; tear; what is distilled from anything in drops, nectar"), from Proto-Germanic *tahrÄ… (“tear"), from Proto-Indo-European *dÃ¡á¸±ru- (“tears"). Cognates include Old Norse tÃ¡r (Danish tÃ¥re and Norwegian tÃ¥re), Old High German zahar (German ZÃ¤hre), Gothic ð„ðŒ°ðŒ²ð‚ (tagr).

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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"tear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR>.

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tear. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR

tear - Medical Definition

A drop of the clear salty liquid that is secreted by the lachrymal gland of the eye to lubricate the surface between the eyeball and eyelid and to wash away irritants.
A drop of a liquid or hardened fluid.

To become filled with tears: The strong wind caused my eyes to tear.

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"tear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR>.

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tear. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/TEAR

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