tear up

verb

tore up; torn up; tearing up; tears up

transitive verb

1
: to damage, remove, or effect an opening in
tore up the street to lay a new water main
2
: to perform or compete with great success on, in, or against
couples tearing up the dance floor
a batter who's tearing up the league

Examples of tear up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Godwin was already tearing up on the way to the podium. Merle Ginsberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Apr. 2024 Jonah Cox, the outfielder acquired from the A’s for Ross Stripling, has also torn up the base paths for a league-leading nine steals in 14 games. Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024 My brain felt as if it were being ripped apart, torn up. Chloé Cooper Jones Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan Zachary Mouton, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024 Otero came home early to check on the house, finding the object had ripped through his ceiling and torn up the flooring. CBS News, 16 Apr. 2024 Pulling a ring out of a nearby bush, Paul watched as Agdal began to tear up. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024 Many of the doomed cetaceans looked skinny or emaciated, while others looked torn up by orcas. Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024 In a group of parent reactions gathered by Forbes, a mom named Kelly Crawford said the special episode was the first piece of media to make her child tear up. Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024 While Etchells is asking for a more reflective relationship with our screens, Haidt implores governments—and parents—to tear up our current approaches and start afresh. Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 29 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tear up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tear up was in 1620

Dictionary Entries Near tear up

Cite this Entry

“Tear up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tear%20up. Accessed 4 May. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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