What does "tear" mean?
A hole or break caused by tearing.
Tear
/tɛə/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A hole or break caused by tearing.
- Grammar: tear is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: rip, teardrop, abrade, abrasion.
- Useful contrasts: darned, darneder, no tearing.
- Usage evidence: If he sends me any letters, I just tear them up and throw them away.
How to use "tear"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tear" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tear" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tear" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tear" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tear" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "rip" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tear", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A hole or break caused by tearing.
"A small tear is easy to mend, if it is on the seam."
- 2 A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation.
"Big tears streamed from Lisa's eyes, rolling down her cheeks."
- 3 the act of tearing wordnet
- 4 A rampage. slang
"to go on a tear"
- 5 Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins.
"Let Araby extol her happy coast, / Her fragrant flowers, her trees with precious tears."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 an occasion for excessive eating or drinking wordnet
- 7 A partially vitrified bit of clay in glass.
- 8 a drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands wordnet
- 9 That which causes or accompanies tears; a lament; a dirge.
"Without meed of some melodious tear. Begin then, Sisters of the sacred well [...]"
- 10 an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart wordnet
Verb
- 1 To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate. transitive
"He tore his coat on the nail."
- 2 To produce tears. intransitive
"Her eyes began to tear in the harsh wind."
- 3 fill with tears or shed tears wordnet
- 4 To injure as if by pulling apart. transitive
"He tore some muscles in a weight-lifting accident."
- 5 strip of feathers wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 To destroy or reduce abstract unity or coherence, such as social, political or emotional. transitive
"He was torn by conflicting emotions."
- 7 to separate or be separated by force wordnet
- 8 To make (an opening) with force or energy. transitive
"A piece of debris tore a tiny straight channel through the satellite."
- 9 separate or cause to separate abruptly wordnet
- 10 To remove by tearing, or with sudden great force. often, transitive
"Tear the coupon out of the newspaper."
- 11 move quickly and violently wordnet
- 12 To demolish. transitive, with-down
"The slums were torn down to make way for the new development."
- 13 To become torn, especially accidentally. intransitive
"My dress has torn."
- 14 To move or act with great speed, energy, or violence. intransitive
"He went tearing down the hill at 90 miles per hour."
- 15 To smash or enter something with great force. intransitive
"The chain shot tore into the approaching line of infantry."
- 16 To be interrupted midway through. intransitive
"torn write"
Example
"If he sends me any letters, I just tear them up and throw them away."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tear"?
Common synonyms include: rip, teardrop, abrade, abrasion, amputate, assault.
How do you use "tear" in a sentence?
If he sends me any letters, I just tear them up and throw them away.
How do you pronounce "tear"?
Pronounced /tɛə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English teren, from Old English teran (“to tear, lacerate”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear, tear apart, rip”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to tear, tear apart”). Cognate with Scots tere, teir, tair (“to rend, lacerate, wound, rip, tear out”), Dutch teren (“to eliminate, efface, live, survive by consumption”), German zehren (“to consume, misuse”), German zerren (“to tug, rip, tear”), Danish tære (“to consume”), Swedish tära (“to fret, consume, deplete, use up”), Icelandic tæra (“to clear, corrode”). Outside Germanic, cognate to Ancient Greek δέρω (dérō, “to skin”), Albanian ther (“to slay, skin, pierce”). Doublet of tire.
Etymology 2
From Middle English teer (“tear”), from Old English tēar, from Proto-West Germanic *tahr, from Proto-Germanic *tahrą (“tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *dáḱru- (“tears”). Cognates include Old Norse tár (Danish tåre and Norwegian tåre), Old High German zahar (German Zähre), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂 (tagr), Irish deoir and Latin lacrima.