tear

1 noun

1 (C) a drop of salty liquid that flows from your eye when you are crying: Tears just rolled down his face. | tear-stained cheeks | (be) in tears (=crying): My wife actually broke down in tears telling me. | burst into tears (=suddenly start crying): Bridget burst into tears and ran out. | be close to tears/be on the verge of tears (=be almost crying) | fight back tears (=try very hard not to cry) | bring tears to sb's eyes (=make someone almost cry): It's music that'll bring tears to the eyes of grown men. | reduce sb to tears (=make someone cry, especially by being unkind to them) | shed tears (=cry because you are sad): Few of us shed any tears when Miss Crabbe left. | tears of joy/laughter etc: Tears of gratitude shone in his eyes.

2 it'll (all) end in tears BrE spoken used to warn someone that what they are doing will have an unpleasant result and cause unhappiness

—see also: bore sb to tears bore 2 (1), shed crocodile tears crocodile (4) 2 verb past tense tore past participle torn

1 PAPER CLOTH

a) (T) to damage something such as paper or cloth by pulling it too hard or letting it touch something sharp: Oh no! I've torn my T-shirt. | tear sth on sth: Be careful you don't tear your sleeve on that nail. | tear sth out/off/away etc (=remove something by tearing it away from something else): Someone's torn the last page out. | tear a hole in sth: “Oh Rick, you've torn a hole in your best pants.” | tear sth to shreds/pieces (=tear something so much that it is in small pieces.): The contract lay on the ground, torn to shreds. | tear sth open (=to open something very quickly by tearing it): Lister grabbed the envelope and tore it open to see if he'd got the job.

b) (I) if paper or cloth tears, a hole appears in it, or it splits, because it has been pulled too hard or has touched something sharp: Careful, the paper is very old and tears easily.

2 MOVE QUICKLY (intransitive always + adv/prep) to move somewhere very quickly, especially in a dangerous or careless way

(+ away/up/past etc): The way the big kids tear around the garden on their bikes, it's dangerous for the little ones.

3 REMOVE STH (transitive always + adv/prep) to pull something violently from the place where it is fixed or held: tear sth/from/away etc: The wind tore the door from its hinges..

4 tear loose to escape from something that is holding you by moving violently: The dog tore loose and ran off.

5 be torn between to be unable to decide between two people or things, because you want both: I'm torn between getting a new car and going on vacation.

6 be torn by sth

a) to feel very worried, guilty, anxious etc because you are affected by a strong emotion or feeling: I was torn by conflicting impulses.

b) if a country or family is torn by an argument, war etc, it is very badly affected by it: a nation torn by war and riots

7 tear sb/sth to shreds/pieces to criticize someone or something very severely: In the end the prosecutor's case was torn to shreds by Russell's lawyer.

8 MUSCLE (T) to damage a muscle or ligament (=a strong band connected to your muscles)

9 tear sb off a strip/tear a strip off sb BrE informal to criticize someone angrily because they have done something wrong

10 tear sb limb from limb humorous to attack someone in a very violent way: When I get hold of the person responsible, I'll tear them limb from limb.

11 tear your hair out informal to be very anxious or angry about something: I've been tearing my hair out sorting out these wedding arrangements.

12 be in a tearing hurry BrE to be doing something very quickly, especially because you are late

13 tear sb's heart out to make someone feel extremely upset: She's so lonely - it's tearing my heart out.

14 that's torn it! BrE spoken used when something bad has happened that stops you from doing what you intended to do: That's torn it! I've left my keys in the car!

tear sb/sth apart phrasal verb (T)

1 to make someone feel extremely unhappy or upset: It tears me apart to see them argue.

2 to cause serious arguments in an organization, group etc: Scandal is tearing the government apart.

3 to break something into many small pieces, especially in a violent way: a carcass torn apart by wolves

tear at sb/sth phrasal verb (T) to pull violently at someone or something: The children were screaming and tearing at each other's hair. tear away phrasal verb

1 (I) to suddenly start moving very quickly: The car tore away into the distance.

2 tear yourself away (from) to leave a place or person very unwillingly because you have to: Could you please tear yourself away from the TV and help me for a minute.

tear sth down phrasal verb (T) to knock down a large building or part of a building: It's time some of these old apartment blocks were torn down. tear into sb/sth phrasal verb (transitive not in passive)

1 to attack someone by hitting them very hard: boxers tearing into each other

2 to criticize someone very strongly, especially unfairly: All I said was that she could maybe try harder and she really tore into me.

tear off phrasal verb

1 (transitive tear something off) to remove your clothes as quickly as you can: Ben tore off his coat and dived in to rescue the child.

2 (I) to suddenly start moving very quickly: I must tear off to the store before it closes.

3 (transitive tear something off) BrE informal to write something in a short time: I tore off a letter.

tear sth up phrasal verb (T)

1 to destroy a piece of paper or cloth by breaking it into small pieces: Crying, she tore up his letter.

2 to damage or ruin a place, especially by behaving violently: football fans tearing up the grounds

3 tear up an agreement/contract etc to suddenly decide to stop being restricted by a contract etc

3 noun (C) a hole in a piece of cloth, paper etc where it has been torn —see also: wear and tear wear 2 (4)