tear

1.
v. & n.
—v. (past tore; past part. torn)
1 tr. (often foll. by up) pull apart or to pieces with some force (tear it in half; tore up the letter).
2 tr. a make a hole or rent in by tearing (have torn my coat). b make (a hole or rent).
3 tr. (foll. by away, off, etc.) pull violently or with some force (tore the book away from me; tore off the cover; tore a page out; tore down the notice).
4 tr. violently disrupt or divide (the country was torn by civil war; torn by conflicting emotions).
5 intr. colloq. go or travel hurriedly or impetuously (tore across the road).
6 intr. undergo tearing (the curtain tore down the middle).
7 intr. (foll. by at etc.) pull violently or with some force.
—n.
1 a hole or other damage caused by tearing.
2 a torn part of cloth etc.
Phrases and idioms:
be torn between have difficulty in choosing between. tear apart
1 search (a place) exhaustively.
2 criticize forcefully. tear one's hair out behave with extreme desperation or anger.
tear into
1 attack verbally; reprimand.
2 make a vigorous start on (an activity). tear oneself away leave despite a strong desire to stay. tear sheet a page that can be removed from a newspaper or magazine etc. for use separately. tear to shreds colloq. refute or criticize thoroughly. that's torn it Brit. colloq. that has spoiled things, caused a problem, etc.
Derivatives:
tearable adj. tearer n.
Etymology: OE teran f. Gmc
2.
n.
1 a drop of clear salty liquid secreted by glands, that serves to moisten and wash the eye and is shed from it in grief or other strong emotions.
2 a tearlike thing; a drop.
Phrases and idioms:
in tears crying; shedding tears. tear-drop a single tear. tear-duct a drain for carrying tears to the eye or from the eye to the nose. tear-gas gas that disables by causing severe irritation to the eyes. tear-jerker colloq. a story, film, etc., calculated to evoke sadness or sympathy. without tears presented so as to be learned or done easily.
Derivatives:
tearlike adj.
Etymology: OE tear