tear

Pluraltears

Formstears, tearing, tore, torn

1. 1
   SayTEERUS/tɪɹ/UK/tɪə/

   drop from eyesnouncountable

   A drop of the clear, salty fluid that the eyes release during crying or in response to irritation.

   A single tear slid down her cheek as the train pulled away.

   Chopping onions brought tears to his eyes within seconds.

   UsageMostly plural: in tears, burst into tears. It rhymes with peer, unlike the verb for ripping.

   Similarteardrop

   Note

   Shakespeare's Othello weeps 'as fast as the Arabian trees / Their medicinable gum'. That simile points straight at the resin drop, where trees too are said to shed tears. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Shakespeare wrote Othello. gutenberg.org
   • Othello himself describes his tears using the quoted comparison with Arabian trees and their medicinable gum. folger.edu
   • Tear also denotes a drop of resin or balsam, supporting the figurative connection with trees shedding tears. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   ripverbtransitive

   To pull a solid material apart at two points so that it rips or separates, whether deliberately or by accident.

   She tore the letter in half and threw the pieces away.

   Workers tear the old fabric into strips before recycling it.

   UsageRhymes with pair. The past forms are tore and torn (not incorrect: teared).

   Similarrip, split

   Note

   Two unrelated words share this spelling, and this is the ripping one. It comes from Middle English teren and Old English teran, from a root *der- meaning 'to tear apart', and it rhymes with pair. The weeping word comes from Old English tēar and a different root, *dáḱru-, and rhymes with peer. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • The ripping word and the eye-drop word have separate etymologies. en.wiktionary.org
   • The ripping verb comes through Middle English teren and Old English teran from the root *der-, meaning to tear apart. en.wiktionary.org
   • The ripping verb rhymes with pair. en.wiktionary.org
   • The eye-drop noun derives from Old English tēar and ultimately from *dáḱru-. en.wiktionary.org
   • The eye-drop word rhymes with peer. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   break unityverbtransitive

   To destroy or weaken the unity or coherence of something abstract, such as a community, an institution, or a person's emotions.

   The civil war tore the country apart along ethnic lines.

   Scandals like this one tear public trust to shreds.

   UsageOften tear something apart. Someone torn between two choices feels pulled both ways.

   Similarsplit, divide, rip, rend

   Oppositeunite

4. 4
   verbtransitivewith down

   With down, to demolish or pull down a building or other structure.

   Crews tore down the condemned apartment block in a single week.

   Developers tear historic buildings down despite preservationists' objections.

   UsagePut down before or after a noun (tear down the block), but after a pronoun (tear it down, not incorrect: tear down it).

   Similardemolish, raze, level, flatten

   Oppositebuild, erect, construct

5. 5
   injure (muscle)verbtransitive

   To injure something, such as a muscle or ligament, as if by pulling it apart.

   She tore a ligament in her knee during the soccer match.

   Sprinting without warming up can tear a hamstring.

   UsageThe past participle often works as an adjective: a torn ligament, a torn muscle.

   Similarrupture, pull, rip

6. 6
   rip awayverbtransitive

   To remove something by ripping it away or with sudden, forceful motion.

   The storm tore shingles from rooftops across the neighborhood.

   Protesters tear posters from the walls faster than the city can replace them.

   UsageUsually with out, off or from: tear out a page, tear off a label, tear posters from walls.

   Similarrip, pull, wrench, yank

7. 7
   nouncountable

   A hole or break produced when material rips or is pulled apart.

   The mechanic noticed a small tear in the seat upholstery.

   Years of use had left tears along the tent's seams.

   UsageSay a tear in something. It rhymes with pair.

   Similarrip, split, hole, gash

8. 8
   rushverbintransitive

   To move or act at great speed or with intense energy or violence.

   A motorcycle tore down the highway, weaving between cars.

   Rumors tear through small towns faster than any newspaper.

   UsageOften followed by a direction or route: tear down the highway, tear through town. With roads, up and down can mean along.

   Similarrace, speed, rush, hurtle, zoom

   Oppositecrawl, creep

   Note

   When Agatha Christie's narrator 'tore up the village' in The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), he ran through it looking for Poirot. Tearing into a backlog means attacking work with energy, and shot can likewise tear into a line of infantry. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Agatha Christie wrote The Mysterious Affair at Styles. en.wikisource.org
   • The novel was first published in 1920. en.wikisource.org
   • The narrator uses the exact words 'tore up the village' to describe hurrying through the village to find Poirot. gutenberg.org
9. 9
   SayTEERUS/tɪɹ/UK/tɪə/

   verbintransitive

   To produce tears, as the eyes do in response to irritation or emotion.

   Her eyes teared in the icy wind on the walk home.

   Chopping onions always makes my eyes tear.

   UsageThe forms are regular: eyes tear, eyes teared. It rhymes with peer and is usually said of eyes.

   Similarwater, weep, stream

   Note

   A verb made from the weeping noun, not from the ripping verb, and it conjugates regularly: eyes tear, eyes teared, eyes have teared. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The weeping verb has regular past-tense and past-participle forms, both teared. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    SayTEERUS/tɪɹ/UK/tɪə/

    resin dropnouncountable

    Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid; also, a solid, transparent drop of a substance such as a balsam or resin.

    Each tear of frankincense is graded by size and color before it is sold.

    The hardened resin formed amber tears along the wounded bark.

    Similardrop, bead, droplet, globule

    Note

    Weeping lent its word to anything that forms a clear drop, and above all to resin. Trees that bleed gum are pictured as crying it, and the hardened beads are traded as tears of frankincense, myrrh or gum arabic. John Dryden's Ovid, in Fables Ancient and Modern (1700), praises Araby's 'trees with precious tears', a line where the poetic figure and the merchant's term meet. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts

    • The word for a tear from the eye also denotes transparent drops and solid drops of balsams or resins. en.wiktionary.org
    • Trees producing resin are poetically represented as weeping it. en.wikisource.org
    • Hardened frankincense is collected and traded as tears. fao.org
    • Myrrh occurs commercially as tears. ignca.gov.in
    • Gum arabic occurs commercially as hardened tears. fao.org
    • Dryden's Fables Ancient and Modern includes translations from Ovid and was first published in 1700. en.wikisource.org
    • The quoted words occur in Dryden's translation of Ovid and refer to Araby. en.wikisource.org

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