tear

UK: /ˈtɪə^r/, /ˈtɛə^r/

US: /tɪr for 1; tɛr for 2/

US: (tēr for eyes/weeping; târ for other senses)

Inflections of 'tear' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

tears

v 3rd person singular

tearing

v pres p

tore

v past

torn

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

tear¹ /tɪr/   n. [countable]

1. Physiology a drop of salty, watery fluid produced by glands around the eyelid:
   Tears wash away dirt and dust in the eye.
2. Physiology a drop of this fluid appearing in or flowing from the eye as the result of emotion, esp. grief, pain, or sadness:
   Tears flowed down his face during the funeral.
3. tears, [plural] an act of weeping:
   She burst into tears.

v. [no object]

4. (of the eyes) to fill up and overflow with tears:
   His eyes teared whenever he thought of his late father.

Idioms

5. Idioms in tears, weeping:
   I found her in tears.

tear•ful, adj. 
tear•y, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

tear² /tɛr/   v., tore, torn, tear•ing, n. 
v. 

1. to (cause to) be pulled apart or in pieces by force: [~ + object]
   He tore the fabric.
   [no object]
   This fabric tears easily.
2. to pull or snatch violently:
   [~ + object] She tore the book from my hands.
3. to move or behave with violent haste or great energy:
   [no object] The wind tore through the trees.
4. to divide or disrupt:
   [~ + object* usually: be + torn] The country was torn by civil war.
5. to produce (a hole or rip) by pulling apart:
   [~ + object] to tear a hole in one's coat.
6. to remove by force or effort:
   [~ + object + away] It was such an exciting lecture, I couldn't tear myself away.
7. tear at, [~ + at + object]
   • to pull or pluck violently at:
     He tore at her sleeve, begging her to stay.
   • to cause a feeling of distress, pain, or unhappiness;
     afflict:
     The grief tore at his heart.
8. tear down:
   • to pull down;
     demolish: [~ + object + down]
     They're tearing the old library down.
     [~ + down + object]
     They're tearing down the old library.
   • to discredit or show to be false: [~ + down + object]
     He tore down the theory that some races are more intelligent than others.
     [~ + object + down]
     The scientists were quick to tear that theory down.
9. tear into, [~ + into + object] to attack quickly and viciously:
   The army tore into the enemy.
10. tear up:
    • to tear into small shreds: [~ + up + object]
      He tore up the message.
      [~ + object + up]
      He tore the message up.
    • to cancel or annul: [~ + up + object]
      to tear up a contract.
      [~ + object + up]
      to tear a contract up.

n. [countable]

11. the act of tearing.
12. a place where something is or has been torn, ripped, or pulled apart.
13. Informal Terms a spree:
    The shoppers went on a tear through the mall.

See torn.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tear¹  (tēr), n. 

1. Physiology a drop of the saline, watery fluid continually secreted by the lacrimal glands between the surface of the eye and the eyelid, serving to moisten and lubricate these parts and keep them clear of foreign particles.
2. Physiology this fluid appearing in or flowing from the eye as the result of emotion, esp. grief.
3. something resembling or suggesting a tear, as a drop of a liquid or a tearlike mass of a solid substance, esp. having a spherical or globular shape at one end and tapering to a point at the other.
4. Ceramics [Glassmaking.] a decorative air bubble enclosed in a glass vessel;
   air bell.
5. tears, grief;
   sorrow.
6. in tears, weeping:
   He was in tears over the death of his dog.

v.i. 

7. to fill up and overflow with tears, as the eyes.

• bef. 900; (noun, nominal) Middle English teer, Old English tēar, tehher, taeher; cognate with Old High German zahar, Old Norse tār, Gothic tagr, Greek dákry, Latin lacrima (see lachrymal); (verb, verbal) Middle English teren, Old English teheran, in teherende (gerund, gerundive), derivative of the noun, nominal

tear²  (târ), v., tore or (Archaic) tare, torn or (Archaic) tare, tear•ing;
 n. 
v.t. 

1. to pull apart or in pieces by force, esp. so as to leave ragged or irregular edges.
2. to pull or snatch violently;
   wrench away with force:
   to tear wrappings from a package; to tear a book from someone's hands.
3. to distress greatly:
   anguish that tears the heart.
4. to divide or disrupt:
   a country torn by civil war.
5. Pathology to wound or injure by or as if by rending;
   lacerate.
6. to produce or effect by rending:
   to tear a hole in one's coat.
7. to remove by force or effort:
   to be unable to tear oneself from a place.

v.i. 

8. to become torn.
9. to make a tear or rent.
10. to move or behave with force, violent haste, or energy:
    The wind tore through the trees;
    cars tearing up and down the highway;
    I was tearing around all afternoon trying to find sandals for the beach.
11. tear at:
    • to pluck violently at;
      attempt to tear:
      She tore at the bandages until they loosened.
    • to distress;
      afflict:
      remorse that tears at one's soul.
12. tear down:
    • to pull down;
      destroy;
      demolish.
    • to disparage or discredit:
      to tear down one's friends behind their backs.
13. tear into, [Informal.]
    • to attack impulsively and heedlessly:
      He tore into the food with a will.
    • to attack verbally:
      She tore into him for being late for dinner.
14. tear it, [Slang.] to ruin all hope;
    spoil everything.
15. tear off, [Slang.] to perform or do, esp. rapidly or casually:
    to tear off a poem; to tear off a set of tennis.
16. tear one's hair, to tug at one's hair, as with anger or sorrow. Also, tear one's hair out. 
17. tear up:
    • to tear into small shreds:
      He tore up the drawings because she had criticized them.
    • to cancel or annul:
      to tear up a contract.

n. 

18. the act of tearing.
19. a rent or fissure.
20. a rage or passion;
    violent flurry or outburst.
21. Informal Terms a spree.

• bef. 900; Middle English teren (verb, verbal), Old English teran; cognate with Dutch teren, German zehren to consume, Gothic distairan to destroy, Greek dérein to flay

tear′a•ble, adj. 
tear′a•ble•ness, n. 
tear′er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. Tear, rend, rip mean to pull apart. To tear is to split the fibers of something by pulling apart, usually so as to leave ragged or irregular edges:
  to tear open a letter.
  Rend implies force or violence in tearing apart or in pieces:
  to rend one's clothes in grief.
  Rip implies vigorous tearing asunder, esp. along a seam or line:
  to rip the sleeves out of a coat.
• 3. shatter, afflict.
• 4. split.
• 5. cut, mangle.
• 19. rip.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tear / tɪə/ noun

1. a drop of the secretion of the lacrimal glands
   See tears
2. something shaped like a hanging drop: a tear of amber

Also called (esp Brit): teardrop Etymology: Old English tēar, related to Old Frisian, Old Norse tār, Old High German zahar, Greek dakri

ˈtearless adjective

tear / tɛə/ verb (tears, tearing, tore, torn)

to cause (material, paper, etc) to come apart or (of material, etc) to come apart; rip

(transitive) to make (a hole or split) in (something)

(intransitive) often followed by along: to hurry or rush

(tr; usually followed by away or from) to remove or take by force

when intr, often followed by at: to cause pain, distress, or anguish (to)

tear one's hair ⇒ to be angry, frustrated, very worried, etc

noun

1. a hole, cut, or split
2. the act of tearing

Etymology: Old English teran; related to Old Saxon terian, Gothic gatairan to destroy, Old High German zeran to destroy

ˈtearable adjective

ˈtearer noun