tear, rip, rend, split, cleave, rive mean to separate forcibly. tear implies pulling apart by force and leaving jagged edges.

Tear involves pulling something apart or into pieces: "She tore the letter in shreds" (Edith Wharton). Rip implies rough or forcible tearing: Carpenters ripped up the old floorboards.

tear noun (FROM EYES) B1 [ C usually plural ] a drop of salty liquid that flows from the eye, as a result of strong emotion, especially unhappiness, or pain:

Tear definition: To make (an opening) in something by pulling it apart or by accident.

A tear is a drop of saline liquid that is produced from the eyes due to an emotional reaction, such as sadness or grief. Conversely, tearing is a form of destruction achieved by pulling or …

Tears are the liquid that comes out of your eyes when you cry. If you tear something, you pull it into pieces or make a hole in it.

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 …

Definition of tear verb in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

4 days ago · tear (third-person singular simple present tears, present participle tearing, simple past tore, past participle torn or (now colloquial and nonstandard) tore) He tore his coat on the …

There are 24 meanings listed in OED's entry for the verb tear, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.