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tear

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verb British English pronunciation: tear /teə(r)/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theytear
he/she/ittears
present participletearing
past tensetore
past participletorn
Other entries for this word
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] to pull something so that it separates into pieces or gets a hole in it, or to become damaged in this way

    It's made of very thin material that tears easily.

    He'd torn his raincoat.

    tear a hole in something:

    I've torn a hole in my sweater!

    tear something to pieces/bits/shreds:

    Mary tore the letter to pieces without reading it.

    tear something in two:

    Reynolds tore the contract in two.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of tear
    1. a.
      [transitive] to accidentally damage cloth, paper etc with something sharp or by getting it stuck on something
      tear something on something:

      I must have torn my sleeve on that nail.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of tear
  3. 3
    [intransitive] to move somewhere very quickly, especially in an excited or uncontrolled way
    tear into/off/past etc:

    Those kids are always tearing around here on their bicycles.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of tear
  4. 4
    [transitive] to remove something by pulling it away from something else with force
    tear something out/off/away from etc:

    You'll need to tear the old wallpaper off the walls.

    The storm had torn the old tree up by the roots.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of tear

phrases

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This is the British English definition of tear. View American English definition of tear.

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