tear1
verb/teə(r)/
/ter/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they tear | /teə(r)/ /ter/ |
| he / she / it tears | /teəz/ /terz/ |
| past simple tore | /tɔː(r)/ /tɔːr/ |
| past participle torn | /tɔːn/ /tɔːrn/ |
| -ing form tearing | /ˈteərɪŋ/ /ˈterɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to damage something by pulling it apart or into pieces or by cutting it on something sharp; to become damaged in this way synonym rip
- tear something + adv./prep. 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.
- tear (something) His clothes were badly torn.
- Careful—the fabric tears very easily.
- tear something + adj. 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.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- badly
- easily
- almost
- …
- threaten to
- at
- from
- off
- …
- tear free
- tear loose
- tear something in half
- …
Definitions on the go
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- [transitive] tear something in something to make a hole in something by force synonym rip
- The blast tore a hole in the wall.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- badly
- easily
- almost
- …
- threaten to
- at
- from
- off
- …
- tear free
- tear loose
- tear something in half
- …
- [transitive] tear something + adv./prep. to remove something from something else by pulling it roughly or violently synonym rip
- 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.
- [transitive] to pull yourself/somebody away by force from somebody/something that is holding you or them
- tear yourself/somebody from somebody/something She tore herself from his grasp.
- tear yourself/somebody + adj. He tore himself free.
- One error and he would have been torn loose and hurled overboard by the squalling wind.
- [transitive] tear something to injure a muscle, etc. by stretching it too much
- a torn ligament/muscle
- She's torn a ligament in her right hand.
- She tore a calf muscle playing squash.
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to move somewhere very quickly or in an excited way
- 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.
- (in adjectives) very badly affected or damaged by something
- to bring peace to a strife-torn country
- a strike-torn industry
damage
remove from something/somebody
injure muscle
move quickly
-torn
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.
Idioms
See tear in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee tear in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe 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.
(also tear somebody up)
- 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
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tear1