tear

I CRYING

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tears

(Pronounced [[t]tɪ͟ə(r)[/t]] in tear 1, and [[t]te͟ə(r)[/t]] in tear2.)

1) N-COUNT: usu pl Tears are the drops of salty liquid that come out of your eyes when you are crying.

Her eyes filled with tears...

I just broke down and wept with tears of joy...

I didn't shed a single tear.

2) N-PLURAL You can use tears in expressions such as in tears, burst into tears, and close to tears to indicate that someone is crying or is almost crying.

He was in floods of tears on the phone...

She burst into tears and ran from the kitchen...

She was conscious of being very near to tears.

3) → See also crocodile tears

blood, sweat, and tears → see blood

II DAMAGING OR MOVING

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tears, tearing, tore, torn

(Pronounced [[t]tɪ͟ə(r)[/t]] in tear 1, and [[t]te͟ə(r)[/t]] in tear 2.)

1) V-ERG If you tear paper, cloth, or another material, or if it tears, you pull it into two pieces or you pull it so that a hole appears in it.

[V n] She very nearly tore my overcoat...

[V n prep] Mary Ann tore the edge off her napkin...

[V n with adv] He took a small notebook from his jacket pocket and tore out a page...

Too fine a material may tear...

[V n with adj] Nancy quickly tore open the envelope...

[V prep/adv] He noticed that fabric was tearing away from the plane's wing...

[V-ed] He went ashore leaving me to start repairing the torn sail.

Syn:

rip

PHRASAL VERB

Tear up means the same as tear.

V n P She tore the letter up... V P n (not pron) Don't you dare tear up her ticket. V-ed P ...a torn up photograph.

2) N-COUNT A tear in paper, cloth, or another material is a hole that has been made in it.

I peered through a tear in the van's curtains.

Syn:

rip

3) VERB If something tears your flesh or skin, it cuts it badly.

[V n] Canine teeth are for piercing and killing prey, and tearing flesh...

[V n prep] He had stumbled down and torn the skin from his knees.

Syn:

rip

4) V-ERG If you tear one of your muscles or ligaments, or if it tears, you injure it by accidentally moving it in the wrong way.

[V n] He tore a muscle in his right thigh...

If the muscle is stretched again it could even tear.

[V-ed] ...torn ligaments.

5) VERB To tear something from somewhere means to remove it roughly and violently.

[V n prep] She tore the windscreen wipers from his car...

[V n with adv] He tore down the girl's photograph, and crumpled it into a ball.

Syn:

rip

6) VERB If a person or animal tears at something, they pull it violently and try to break it into pieces.

[V at n] Female fans fought their way past bodyguards and tore at his clothes.

Syn:

rip

7) VERB If you tear somewhere, you move there very quickly, often in an uncontrolled or dangerous way.

[V prep/adv] The door flew open and Miranda tore into the room...

[V prep/adv] Without looking to left or to right, he tore off down the road.

Syn:

rush

8) V-PASSIVE If you say that a place is torn by particular events, you mean that unpleasant events which cause suffering and division among people are happening there.

[be V-ed by n] ...a country that has been torn by civil war and foreign invasion since its independence.

Syn:

be riven

Derived words:

-torn COMB in ADJ

...the riot-torn areas of Los Angeles.

9) → See also , wear and tear

to tear a strip off → see strip

to tear someone to pieces → see piece

to tear someone to shreds → see shred

Phrasal Verbs:

- tear apart

- tear away

- tear down

- tear into

- tear off

- tear up