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

Much of the deal, which stipulated an end to fighting and the free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, had already been effectively torn up. — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 18 July 2026

Although the damage appears to be contained to the kitchen, Clark said, crews may need to tear up additional portions of the floor to safely rebuild. — Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026

Danny Scudero, a 5-9, 180-pound transfer from San Jose State, tore up the Mountain West last season, catching 88 passes for 1,291 yards and 10 TDs. — Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 14 July 2026

In May, Thailand’s government tore up the 2001 memorandum of understanding, the only working framework between Phnom Penh and Bangkok for settling their overlapping maritime claims. — Ken Silverstein, Forbes.com, 7 July 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