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 news comes with Netflix’s Adolescence, a distinctively British story made in the UK, tearing up the global ratings charts. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2025

Troops have torn up and denied Palestinians any access to the fertile farmland that once sustained lives and livelihoods. —Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025

Baylee was then offered a golden ticket straight to Hollywood, which prompted Brian to tear up. —Ilana Kaplan, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025

When Trump threatened to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement during his first term, Canada responded by accelerating those efforts and refusing to fully align with the United States’ China policy. —Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2025

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