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 Thieves disguise themselves as workers dispatched to tear up underground cables, or bribe actual power company employees, or just show up brandishing guns and use four-wheel-drive trucks to rip cables out of the ground. Vince Beiser, WIRED, 22 Aug. 2024 Never one to hide his emotions, Thompson might have a tough time not tearing up after whatever tribute video the Warriors show on the big screen. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2024 Women were three times more likely to tear up due to burnout than men. Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune Europe, 2 Aug. 2024 That required tearing up 900 feet of the 17-acre park. Patricia Gallagher Newberry, The Enquirer, 25 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for tear up 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tear up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tear up was in 1620

Dictionary Entries Near tear up

Cite this Entry

“Tear up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tear%20up. Accessed 9 Sep. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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