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

The house would remain torn up for a year. —J.c. Hallman, Oklahoma Watch, 22 Jan. 2026

During the episode, the Kelce brothers mentioned that Olsen had attended NFL star Christian McCaffrey’s 2024 wedding to Olivia Culpo and was seen tearing up the dance floor at the reception. —Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026

How could an offense that tore up its final two opponents on the way to a Super Bowl victory a year ago and returned 10 of 11 starters have been so flaccid in 2025? —Michael Silver, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026

Now in her late 40s, with a family of her own, Sanchez still tears up talking about McCarthy. —Graham Womack updated January 15, Sacbee.com, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tear up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup