tear
tear apart
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P
If something tears people apart, it causes them to quarrel or to leave each other.
War and revolution have torn families apart.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P
If something tears you apart, it makes you feel very upset, worried, and unhappy.
Don't think it hasn't torn me apart to be away from you.tear away
[PHRASAL VERB] oft with brd-neg, V n P from n, V pron-refl P from n, V n P, also V pron-refl P
If you tear someone away from a place or activity, you force them to leave the place or stop doing the activity, even though they want to remain there or carry on.
Fame hasn't torn her away from her beloved Liverpool...
Japan's education ministry ordered the change to encourage students to tear themselves away from textbooks...
I stared at the man, couldn't tear my eyes away.tear down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you tear something down, you destroy it or remove it completely.
Angry Russians may have torn down the statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky...
I imagine they'll be tearing the building down sooner or later.
= pull downtear gas /t'ɪər gæs/
[N-UNCOUNT]
Tear gas is a gas that causes your eyes to sting and fill with tears so that you cannot see. It is sometimes used by the police or army to control crowds.
Police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.tear into
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you tear into someone, you criticize them very angrily and strongly. (INFORMAL)
I had a real row with him. I tore into him.tear off
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If you tear off your clothes, you take them off in a rough and violent way.
Totally exhausted, he tore his clothes off and fell into bed...
Fuentes tore off his hat and flung it to the ground.tear up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P, V P n (not pron)
If something such as a road, railway, or area of land is torn up, it is completely removed or destroyed.
Dozens of miles of railway track have been torn up...
The company came under furious attack from environmentalists for tearing up the forests.
2
see tear 1♦ tear1 /t'ɪər/ (tear tears) CRYING
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 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...
3
see also crocodile tears♦♦ tear2 /t'eər/ (tear tears tearing tore torn) DAMAGING OR MOVING
Please look at category 8 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [VERB] V n, V n prep, V n with adv, V, V n with adj, V prep/adv, V-ed
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.
She very nearly tore my overcoat...
Mary Ann tore the edge off her napkin...
He took a small notebook from his jacket pocket and tore out a page...
Too fine a material may tear...
Nancy quickly tore open the envelope...
He noticed that fabric was tearing away from the plane's wing...
He went ashore leaving me to start repairing the torn sail.
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron), V-ed P
Tear up means the same as tear.
She tore the letter up...
Don't you dare tear up her ticket.
...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.
3 [VERB] V n, V, V-ed
If you tear one of your muscles or ligaments, or if it tears, you injure it by accidentally moving it in the wrong way.
He tore a muscle in his right thigh...
If the muscle is stretched again it could even tear.
...torn ligaments.
4 [VERB] V n prep, V n with adv
To tear something from somewhere means to remove it roughly and violently.
She tore the windscreen wipers from his car...
He tore down the girl's photograph, and crumpled it into a ball.
5 [VERB] V at n
If a person or animal tears at something, they pull it violently and try to break it into pieces.
Female fans fought their way past bodyguards and tore at his clothes.
= rip
6 [VERB] V prep/adv
If you tear somewhere, you move there very quickly, often in an uncontrolled or dangerous way.
The door flew open and Miranda tore into the room...
= rush
7 [V-PASSIVE] be V-ed by n
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.
...a country that has been torn by civil war and foreign invasion since its independence.
● -torn [COMB in ADJ]
...the riot-torn areas of Los Angeles.
8
see also torn, wear and tearwear and tear /w'eər ən t'eər/
[N-UNCOUNT]
Wear and tear is the damage or change that is caused to something when it is being used normally.
...the problem of wear and tear on the equipment in the harsh desert conditions.
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P
If something tears people apart, it causes them to quarrel or to leave each other.
War and revolution have torn families apart.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P
If something tears you apart, it makes you feel very upset, worried, and unhappy.
Don't think it hasn't torn me apart to be away from you.tear away
[PHRASAL VERB] oft with brd-neg, V n P from n, V pron-refl P from n, V n P, also V pron-refl P
If you tear someone away from a place or activity, you force them to leave the place or stop doing the activity, even though they want to remain there or carry on.
Fame hasn't torn her away from her beloved Liverpool...
Japan's education ministry ordered the change to encourage students to tear themselves away from textbooks...
I stared at the man, couldn't tear my eyes away.tear down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you tear something down, you destroy it or remove it completely.
Angry Russians may have torn down the statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky...
I imagine they'll be tearing the building down sooner or later.
= pull downtear gas /t'ɪər gæs/
[N-UNCOUNT]
Tear gas is a gas that causes your eyes to sting and fill with tears so that you cannot see. It is sometimes used by the police or army to control crowds.
Police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.tear into
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you tear into someone, you criticize them very angrily and strongly. (INFORMAL)
I had a real row with him. I tore into him.tear off
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If you tear off your clothes, you take them off in a rough and violent way.
Totally exhausted, he tore his clothes off and fell into bed...
Fuentes tore off his hat and flung it to the ground.tear up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P, V P n (not pron)
If something such as a road, railway, or area of land is torn up, it is completely removed or destroyed.
Dozens of miles of railway track have been torn up...
The company came under furious attack from environmentalists for tearing up the forests.
2
see tear 1♦ tear1 /t'ɪər/ (tear tears) CRYING
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 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...
3
see also crocodile tears♦♦ tear2 /t'eər/ (tear tears tearing tore torn) DAMAGING OR MOVING
Please look at category 8 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [VERB] V n, V n prep, V n with adv, V, V n with adj, V prep/adv, V-ed
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.
She very nearly tore my overcoat...
Mary Ann tore the edge off her napkin...
He took a small notebook from his jacket pocket and tore out a page...
Too fine a material may tear...
Nancy quickly tore open the envelope...
He noticed that fabric was tearing away from the plane's wing...
He went ashore leaving me to start repairing the torn sail.
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron), V-ed P
Tear up means the same as tear.
She tore the letter up...
Don't you dare tear up her ticket.
...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.
3 [VERB] V n, V, V-ed
If you tear one of your muscles or ligaments, or if it tears, you injure it by accidentally moving it in the wrong way.
He tore a muscle in his right thigh...
If the muscle is stretched again it could even tear.
...torn ligaments.
4 [VERB] V n prep, V n with adv
To tear something from somewhere means to remove it roughly and violently.
She tore the windscreen wipers from his car...
He tore down the girl's photograph, and crumpled it into a ball.
5 [VERB] V at n
If a person or animal tears at something, they pull it violently and try to break it into pieces.
Female fans fought their way past bodyguards and tore at his clothes.
= rip
6 [VERB] V prep/adv
If you tear somewhere, you move there very quickly, often in an uncontrolled or dangerous way.
The door flew open and Miranda tore into the room...
= rush
7 [V-PASSIVE] be V-ed by n
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.
...a country that has been torn by civil war and foreign invasion since its independence.
● -torn [COMB in ADJ]
...the riot-torn areas of Los Angeles.
8
see also torn, wear and tearwear and tear /w'eər ən t'eər/
[N-UNCOUNT]
Wear and tear is the damage or change that is caused to something when it is being used normally.
...the problem of wear and tear on the equipment in the harsh desert conditions.