tear¹ (târ)

v., tore (tôr, tōr), torn (tôrn, tōrn), tear·ing, tears.

v.tr.

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

v.intr.

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

n.

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

phrasal verbs:

tear around Informal.

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

tear at

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

tear away

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

tear down

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

tear into

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

tear off Informal.

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

tear up

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

idiom:

tear (one's) hair

1. To be greatly upset or distressed.

[Middle English teren, from Old English teran.]

tearer tear'er n.

SYNONYMS   tear, rip, rend, split, cleave. 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.

tear² (tîr)
n.

1. 1. 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.
   2. tears A profusion of this liquid spilling from the eyes and wetting the cheeks, especially as an expression of emotion.
   3. tears The act of weeping: criticism that left me in tears.
2. A drop of a liquid or hardened fluid.

intr.v., teared, tear·ing, tears.
To fill with tears.

[Middle English, from Old English tēar.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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