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 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

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound signal-caller tore up the D2 ranks, passing for 13,161 yards, 126 touchdowns and 50 interceptions across four seasons. — Fisher Isbell, AJC.com, 30 July 2026

Last week, an insurance trade group said policies could be torn up if ships pay Iran tolls to transit the strait, because that would violate US sanctions. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 27 July 2026

In dozens of declarations collected as part of the court record, detainees recounted broccoli full of worms, diapers doled out one at a time, and staff tearing up children’s drawings. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 24 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