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 .