tear
tear
tɛə
teē
peeryearrearfear

Definition & Meaning of "tear"in English

Tear
01

a drop of salty liquid produced by the eyes 

tear definition and meaning
Grammatical Information
Animacy status
Inanimate
Composition
Simple
Countable
Plural form
tears
Examples
A tear rolled down her cheek. 
02

a short period of excessive eating or drinking 

tear definition and meaning
Examples
She went on a sugar tear over the weekend. 
03

a hole or rip caused by pulling something apart 

Examples
The shirt had a tear on the sleeve. 
04

the action of ripping or pulling something apart 

Examples
The child made a tear in the paper. 
to tear
01

to forcibly pull something apart into pieces 

Transitive: to tear sth
to tear definition and meaning
Grammatical Information
Composition
Simple
Action verb
Regular
Present tense
tear
3rd person singular
tears
Present participle
tearing
Past simple
tore
Past participle
torn
Examples
In frustration, he started to tear the paper into small pieces. 
02

to produce drops of salty liquid from the eyes 

Dialectamerican flagAmerican
Intransitive
to tear definition and meaning
Examples
The young girl couldn't help but tear when she heard the sad news of her pet's passing. 
03

to injure a muscle, etc. by stretching it too much 

Transitive: to tear a muscle
Examples
He tore his hamstring while sprinting in the race. 
04

to split or separate into pieces 

Intransitive
Examples
The fabric began to tear along the seam as she tugged on it. 
05

to move swiftly and energetically 

Intransitive: to tear somewhere
Examples
He tore through the streets on his motorcycle. 
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