tear

1. (transitive) To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.Examples: "He tore his coat on the nail."; "Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season. He suffered, poor man, at seeing her so badly dressed, with laceless boots, and the arm-holes of her pinafore torn down to the hips; for the charwoman took no care of her."transitive

2. (transitive) To injure as if by pulling apart.Examples: "He tore some muscles in a weight-lifting accident."transitive

3. (transitive) To destroy or reduce abstract unity or coherence, such as social, political or emotional.Examples: "He was torn by conflicting emotions."transitive

4. (transitive) To make (an opening) with force or energy.Examples: "A piece of debris tore a tiny straight channel through the satellite."; "His boss will tear him a new one when he finds out."; "The artillery tore a gap in the line."Synonyms: rend, riptransitive

5. (transitive, often with off or out) To remove by tearing, or with sudden great force.Examples: "Tear the coupon out of the newspaper."; "[A] surge of muddy water tore him free from his sandy nook and tumbled him down the gully."Synonyms: rip out, tear off, tear outoftentransitive

6. (transitive, of structures, with down) To demolish.Examples: "The slums were torn down to make way for the new development."transitivewith-down