To tear off

To tear off
Tear Tear (t[^a]r), v. t. [imp. {Tore} (t[=o]r), ((Obs. {Tare}) (t[^a]r); p. p. {Torn} (t[=o]rn); p. pr. & vb. n. {Tearing}.] [OE. teren, AS. teran; akin to OS. farterian to destroy, D. teren to consume, G. zerren to pull, to tear, zehren to consume, Icel. t[ae]ra, Goth. gata['i]ran to destroy, Lith. dirti to flay, Russ. drate to pull, to tear, Gr. de`rein to flay, Skr. dar to burst. [root]63. Cf. {Darn}, {Epidermis}, {Tarre}, {Tirade}.] 1. To separate by violence; to pull apart by force; to rend; to lacerate; as, to tear cloth; to tear a garment; to tear the skin or flesh. [1913 Webster]

Tear him to pieces; he's a conspirator. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. Hence, to divide by violent measures; to disrupt; to rend; as, a party or government torn by factions. [1913 Webster]

3. To rend away; to force away; to remove by force; to sunder; as, a child torn from its home. [1913 Webster]

The hand of fate Hath torn thee from me. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

4. To pull with violence; as, to tear the hair. [1913 Webster]

5. To move violently; to agitate. ``Once I loved torn ocean's roar.'' --Byron. [1913 Webster]

{To tear a cat}, to rant violently; to rave; -- especially applied to theatrical ranting. [Obs.] --Shak.

{To tear down}, to demolish violently; to pull or pluck down.

{To tear off}, to pull off by violence; to strip.

{To tear out}, to pull or draw out by violence; as, to tear out the eyes.

{To tear up}, to rip up; to remove from a fixed state by violence; as, to tear up a floor; to tear up the foundation of government or order. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • tear-off — ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun ( s) Etymology: from the phrase tear off : part of a piece of paper intended to be removed by tearing usually along a marked line (as a row of dashes) * * * /tair awf , of /, adj. designed to be easily removed by tearing, usually… …   Useful english dictionary

  • tear off — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms tear off : present tense I/you/we/they tear off he/she/it tears off present participle tearing off past tense tore off past participle torn off 1) to remove your clothes quickly and carelessly The boys tore… …   English dictionary

  • tear-off — /tair awf , of /, adj. designed to be easily removed by tearing, usually along a perforated line: a sales letter with a tear off order blank. [1885 90; adj., n. use of v. phrase tear off] * * * …   Universalium

  • tear off — in. to break away; to run away. □ I hate to tear off but I’m late. □ Don’t tear off without having some of my pie …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • tear off — PHRASAL VERB If you tear off your clothes, you take them off in a rough and violent way. [V n P] Totally exhausted, he tore his clothes off and fell into bed... [V P n (not pron)] Fuentes tore off his hat and flung it to the ground …   English dictionary

  • tear off — verb /teɪɹ ɒf,teɪɹ ɑf/ a) To rip away from; to pull a piece from forcibly. Do not tear off the price tag if you want to return that shirt. b) To leave or depart rapidly. The fugitive tore off down the alley. Syn …   Wiktionary

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