TEAR


Meaning of TEAR in English

I .

/ teə(r); NAmE ter/ verb , noun

—see also tear (II)

■ verb

( tore / tɔː(r); NAmE / torn / tɔːn; NAmE tɔːrn/)

DAMAGE

1.

to damage sth by pulling it apart or into pieces or by cutting it on sth sharp; to become damaged in this way

SYN rip :

[ vn ]

I tore my jeans on the fence.

I tore a hole in my jeans.

He tore the letter in two.

a torn handkerchief

[ vn - adj ]

I tore the package open.

[ v ]

Careful—the fabric tears very easily.

2.

[ vn ] tear sth in sth to make a hole in sth by force

SYN rip :

The blast tore a hole in the wall.

REMOVE FROM STH / SB

3.

[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to remove sth from sth else by pulling it roughly or violently

SYN 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.

4.

tear yourself / sb (from sb/sth) to pull yourself/sb away by force from sb/sth that is holding you or them :

[ vn ]

She tore herself from his grasp.

[ vn - adj ]

He tore himself free.

INJURE MUSCLE

5.

[ vn ] to injure a muscle, etc. by stretching it too much :

a torn ligament

MOVE QUICKLY

6.

[ v + adv. / prep. ] to move somewhere very quickly or in an excited way :

He tore off down the street.

A truck tore past the gates.

-TORN

7.

(in adjectives) very badly affected or damaged by sth :

to bring peace to a strife-torn country

a strike-torn industry

—see also war-torn

IDIOMS

- tear sb/sth apart, to shreds, to bits, etc.

- tear at your heart | tear your heart out

- tear your hair (out)

- (be in) a tearing hurry / rush

- be torn (between A and B)

- tear sb off a strip | tear a strip off sb

- that's torn it

—more at heart , limb , loose adjective

PHRASAL VERBS

- tear sb apart

- tear sth apart

SYN rip sth apart

- tear at sth

- tear yourself away (from sth) | tear sth away (from sth)

- tear sth down

- tear into sb/sth

- tear sth up

■ noun

a hole that has been made in sth by tearing :

This sheet has a tear in it.

IDIOMS

see wear noun

II .

/ tɪə(r); NAmE tɪr/ noun

[ usually pl. ]

—see also tear (I) a drop of liquid that comes out of your eye when you cry :

A tear rolled down his face.

She left the room in tears (= crying) .

He suddenly burst into tears (= began to cry).

As he listened to the music, his eyes filled with tears .

Their story will move you to tears (= make you cry) .

They reduced her to tears (= made her cry, especially by being cruel or unkind) .

Ann wiped a tear from her eye.

The memory brought a tear to her eye (= made her cry) .

Most of the audience was on the verge of tears .

I was close to tears as I told them the news.

Desperately she fought back the tears (= tried not to cry) .

to shed tears of happiness

tears of pain, joy, etc.

The tears welled up in his eyes.

IDIOMS

see blood noun , bored , crocodile , end verb

••

WORD ORIGIN

I . Old 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.

II . Old English tēar , of Germanic origin; related to German Zähre , from an Indo-European root shared by Old Latin dacruma ( Latin lacrima ) and Greek dakru .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.