Tore

to·rus

(tôr'əs, tōr'-)

n. pl. to·ri (tôr'ī, tōr'ī)

Architecture A large convex molding, semicircular in cross section, located at the base of a classical column.
Anatomy A bulging or rounded projection or swelling.
Botany The receptacle of a flower.
Mathematics A toroid generated by a circle; a surface having the shape of a doughnut. Also called tore².

[Latin, bulge, knot, torus.]

tore² Audio Help (tôr, tōr)

n. See torus.

[French, from Latin torus.]

tore¹ Audio Help (tôr, tōr)

v. Past tense of tear¹.

tear¹

(târ)

v. tore (tôr, tōr), torn (tôrn, tōrn), tear·ing, tears

v. tr.

To pull apart or into pieces by force; rend.
To make (an opening) by ripping: tore a hole in my stocking.
To lacerate (the skin, for example).
To separate forcefully; wrench: tore the wrappings off the present.
To divide or disrupt: was torn between opposing choices; a country that was torn by strife.

v. intr.

To become torn.
To move with heedless speed; rush headlong.

The act of tearing.
The result of tearing; a rip or rent.
A great rush; a hurry.
Slang A carousal; a spree.
To move about in excited, often angry haste.
To lead a wild life.
To pull at or attack violently: The dog tore at the meat.
To distress greatly: Their plight tore at his heart.
To demolish: tear down old tenements.
To take apart; disassemble: tear down an engine.
To vilify or denigrate.
To tear to pieces.
To make an opening in: tore up the sidewalk to add a drain.

Phrasal Verb(s):
tear around Informal

To move about in excited, often angry haste.
To lead a wild life.

tear at

To pull at or attack violently: The dog tore at the meat.
To distress greatly: Their plight tore at his heart.

tear away To remove (oneself, for example) unwillingly or reluctantly.
tear down

To demolish: tear down old tenements.
To take apart; disassemble: tear down an engine.
To vilify or denigrate.

tear into To attack with great vigor or violence: tore into the food; tore into his opponent.
tear off Informal To produce hurriedly and casually: tearing off article after news article.
tear up

To tear to pieces.
To make an opening in: tore up the sidewalk to add a drain.

Idiom(s):
tear (one's) hair To be greatly upset or distressed.

[Middle English teren, from Old English teran; see der- in Indo-European roots.]
tear'er n.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to separate or pull apart by force. 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.
Rend usually refers to violent tearing or wrenching apart: "Come as the winds come, when/Forests are rended" (Sir Walter Scott).
To split is to cut or break something into parts or layers, especially along its entire length or along a natural line of division: "They [wood stumps] warmed me twice—once while I was splitting them, and again when they were on the fire" (Henry David Thoreau).
Cleave most often refers to splitting with or as if with a sharp instrument: The butcher cleft the side of beef into smaller portions.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.