tear down

tear

2 [tair] verb, tore or ( Archaic ) tare, torn or ( Archaic ) tare, tear·ing; noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to pull apart or in pieces by force, especially so as to leave ragged or irregular edges. Synonyms: rend, rip, rive. Antonyms: mend, repair, sew.
2.
to pull or snatch violently; wrench away with force: to tear wrappings from a package; to tear a book from someone's hands.
3.
to distress greatly: anguish that tears the heart. Synonyms: break, crack, shatter, afflict.
4.
to divide or disrupt: a country torn by civil war. Synonyms: disunite, split, splinter. Antonyms: unite, reunite, join, bind.
5.
to wound or injure by or as if by rending; lacerate. Synonyms: cut, mangle, slash.
6.
to produce or effect by rending: to tear a hole in one's coat.
7.
to remove by force or effort: to be unable to tear oneself from a place.
verb (used without object)
8.
to become torn.
9.
to make a tear or rent.
10.
to move or behave with force, violent haste, or energy: The wind tore through the trees; cars tearing up and down the highway; I was tearing around all afternoon trying to find sandals for the beach.
00:10
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a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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noun
11.
the act of tearing.
12.
a rent or fissure. Synonyms: rip, rift, rupture.
13.
a rage or passion; violent flurry or outburst.
14.
Informal. a spree.
Verb phrases
15.
tear at,
a.
to pluck violently at; attempt to tear: She tore at the bandages until they loosened.
b.
to distress; afflict: remorse that tears at one's soul.
16.
tear down,
a.
to pull down; destroy; demolish.
b.
to disparage or discredit: to tear down one's friends behind their backs.
17.
tear into, Informal.
a.
to attack impulsively and heedlessly: He tore into the food with a will.
b.
to attack verbally: She tore into him for being late for dinner.
18.
tear off, Slang. to perform or do, especially rapidly or casually: to tear off a poem; to tear off a set of tennis.
19.
tear up,
a.
to tear into small shreds: He tore up the drawings because she had criticized them. Synonyms: rip up.
b.
to cancel or annul: to tear up a contract.
Idioms
20.
tear it, Slang. to ruin all hope; spoil everything.
21.
tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, anger, or frustration: I'm so upset, I could just tear my hair out. Also, tear one's hair out.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English teren (v.), Old English teran; cognate with Dutch teren, German zehren to consume, Gothic distairan to destroy, Greek dérein to flay

Related forms
tear·a·ble, adjective
tear·a·ble·ness, noun
tear·er, noun
un·tear·a·ble, adjective

Synonym Study
1. Tear, rend, rip mean to pull apart. 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 rend one's clothes in grief. Rip implies vigorous tearing asunder, especially along a seam or line: to rip the sleeves out of a coat.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
tear1 (tɪə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  See tears a drop of the secretion of the lacrimal glands
2.  something shaped like a hanging drop: a tear of amber
 
[Old English tēar, related to Old Frisian, Old Norse tār, Old High German zahar, Greek dakri]
 
'tearless1
 
—adj

tear2 (tɛə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb (often foll by along) (when intr, often foll by at) , tears, tearing, tore, torn
1.  to cause (material, paper, etc) to come apart or (of material, etc) to come apart; rip
2.  (tr) to make (a hole or split) in (something): to tear a hole in a dress
3.  to hurry or rush: to tear along the street
4.  (tr; usually foll by away or from) to remove or take by force
5.  to cause pain, distress, or anguish (to): it tore at my heartstrings to see the starving child
6.  informal tear one's hair to be angry, frustrated, very worried, etc
 
—n
7.  a hole, cut, or split
8.  the act of tearing
9.  a great hurry; rush
10.  slang on a tear showing a sudden burst of energy
 
[Old English teran; related to Old Saxon terian, Gothic gatairan to destroy, Old High German zeran to destroy]
 
'tearable2
 
—adj
 
'tearer2
 
—n

tear down (tɛə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb
(tr, adverb) to destroy or demolish: to tear a wall down; to tear down an argument

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tear
"water from the eye," O.E. tear, from earlier teahor, tæhher, from P.Gmc. *takh-, *tagr- (cf. O.N., O.Fris. tar, O.H.G. zahar, Ger. Zähre, Goth. tagr "tear"), from PIE *dakru-/*draku- (cf. L. lacrima, Old L. dacrima, Ir. der, Welsh deigr, Gk. dakryma). The O.E. verb tæherian did not
survive into M.E.; the modern verb is attested from c.1650, mainly in Amer.Eng. Tear gas first recorded 1917; tear-jerker is attested from 1921 (first in ref. to writing of James Whitcomb Riley), on model of soda jerker.

tear
"pull apart," O.E. teran (class IV strong verb; past tense tær, pp. toren), from P.Gmc. *teran (cf. O.S. terian, M.Du. teren "to consume," O.H.G. zeran "to destroy," Ger. zehren, Goth. ga-tairan "to tear, destroy"), from PIE *der- "tear" (cf. Skt. drnati "cleaves, bursts," Gk. derein "to flay,"
Arm. terem "I flay," O.C.S. dera "to burst asunder," Bret. darn "piece"). The O.E. past tense survived long enough to get into Bible translations as tare before giving place 17c. to tore, which is from the old pp. toren. Sense of "to pull by force" (away from some situation or attachment) is attested from 1297. The noun meaning "act of tearing" is attested from 1666. To be torn between two things (desires, loyalties, etc.) is from 1871.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

tear 1 (târ)
n.
A rip or rent in a material or structure.

tear 2 (tēr)
n.
A drop of the clear salty liquid that is secreted by the lacrimal gland of the eye to lubricate the surface between the eyeball and eyelid and to wash away irritants.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
tear   (tîr)  Pronunciation Key 
A drop of the clear salty liquid secreted by glands (lacrimal glands) in the eyes. Tears wet the membrane covering the eye and help rid the eye of irritating substances.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary

tear definition

[tɛr]
  1. n.
    a wild drinking bout. (See also rip.) : Sally is off on a tear again.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

tear down

  1. Demolish, take apart, as in They tore down the old tenements, or He loved to tear down old engines. [Early 1600s]

  2. Vilify or discredit, as in He's always tearing down someone or other. [First half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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