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 tourists who are tearing up our building are the ones who should get out. — Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2026

Shorter said the Destination Crenshaw team tore up the streets in front of his church in 2023, which removed parking for his parishioners. — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026

Burmese pythons have wiped out 87% to 99% of native mammal populations in parts of the Everglades, and green iguanas tear up landscaping and burrow into seawalls, weakening infrastructure. — Laurie Mermet, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2026

The most significant injury of training camp was a doozy and came on the very first day, when second-year pass rusher Nic Scourton tore up his knee July 23 and was soon declared out for the season. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 1 Aug. 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