tear
verbnounnounverbcommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//tɛə//
- United Kingdom//tɛː//
- United Kingdom//tɪə//
- United Kingdom//tɪː//
- United States//tɛɹ//
- United States//tɪəɹ//
To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.
verb
- 1
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.
[object Object]
- 2
To injure as if by pulling apart.
He tore some muscles in a weight-lifting accident.
- 3
To destroy or reduce abstract unity or coherence, such as social, political or emotional.
He was torn by conflicting emotions.
- 4
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.
- 5
To remove by tearing, or with sudden great force.
Tear the coupon out of the newspaper.
[A] surge of muddy water tore him free from his sandy nook and tumbled him down the gully.
- 6
To demolish.
The slums were torn down to make way for the new development.
- 7
To become torn, especially accidentally.
My dress has torn.
- 8
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.
I waited to hear no more, but tore up the village to find Poirot.
- 9
To smash or enter something with great force.
The chain shot tore into the approaching line of infantry.
- 10
To be interrupted midway through.
torn write
Etymology
From Middle English teren, from Old English teran (“to tear, lacerate”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear, tear apart, rip”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“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 tære (“to consume”), Swedish tära (“to fret, consume, deplete, use up”), Icelandic tæra (“to clear, corrode”). Outside Germanic, cognate to Ancient Greek δέρω (dérō, “to skin”), Albanian ther (“to slay, skin, pierce”). Doublet of tire.
noun
- 1
A hole or break caused by tearing.
A small tear is easy to mend, if it is on the seam.
- 2
slangA rampage.
to go on a tear
noun
- 1
A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation.
Big tears streamed from Lisa's eyes, rolling down her cheeks.
Ryan wiped the tear from the paper he was crying on.
I pray you in your Letters, / When you ſhall theſe vnluckie deeds relate, / Speake of me, as I am. […] / Of one, whoſe ſubdu'd Eyes, / Albeit un-vsed to the melting moode, / Drops teares as faſt as the Arabian Trees / Their Medicinable gumme.
'[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because "it was wicked to dress us like charity children".[…]'
- 2
Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins.
Let Araby extol her happy coast, / Her fragrant flowers, her trees with precious tears.
- 3
A partially vitrified bit of clay in glass.
- 4
That which causes or accompanies tears; a lament; a dirge.
Without meed of some melodious tear. Begin then, Sisters of the sacred well [...]
Etymology
From Middle English tear, teer, teere, ter, tere, tyar, tyear, tyer, tær (“tear”), from Old English teagor, tēar, tæher, from Proto-West Germanic *tahr, from Proto-Germanic *tahrą (“tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *dáḱru- (“tear”). Cognates Cognate with German Zähre (“tear”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk tåre (“tear”), Faroese and Icelandic tár (“tear”), Swedish tår (“tear”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂 (tagr, “teardrop”); also Cornish dager (“tear; drop”), Irish deoir (“tear”), Manx jeir (“tear”), Scottish Gaelic deur (“tear; drop”), Welsh deigryn (“tear”), Latin dacrima, dacruma, lachryma, lacrima, lacruma, lacryma (“tear”), Greek δάκρυ (dákry, “tear”), Armenian արտոսր (artosr, “tear”).
verb
- 1
To produce tears.
Her eyes began to tear in the harsh wind.
Forms
- plural
- tears
- past tense
- tore, teared
- past participle
- torn, tore, teared
- present participle
- tearing
- third person singular
- tears
tear · To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.
tearing · enormous; of great size or impacttears · Viscous streaks left on the inside of the glass when certain…tease · To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).