{
    "term": "tear",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "tear",
            "heSheIt": "tears"
        },
        "pastSimple": "tore",
        "pastParticiple": "torn",
        "ingForm": "tearing"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to damage something by pulling it apart or into pieces or by cutting it on something sharp; to become damaged in this way",
            "sensetop": "tear something + adv./prep.tear (something)tear something + adj.",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I tore my jeans on the fence.",
                    "contextForm": "tear something + adv./prep."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I tore a hole in my jeans."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He tore the letter in two."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I tore the picture into pieces."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The letter had been torn to shreds."
                },
                {
                    "text": "His clothes were badly torn.",
                    "contextForm": "tear (something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Careful—the fabric tears very easily."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I tore the package open.",
                    "contextForm": "tear something + adj."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I tore open the package."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The fabric snagged and tore at the seams."
                },
                {
                    "text": "His jacket had been torn to shreds on the barbed wire."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "rip",
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["badly", "easily", "almost"],
                "verb + tear": ["threaten to"],
                "preposition": ["at", "from", "off"],
                "phrases": ["tear free", "tear loose", "tear something in half"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to make a hole in something by force",
            "sensetop": "tear something in something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The blast tore a hole in the wall."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "rip",
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["badly", "easily", "almost"],
                "verb + tear": ["threaten to"],
                "preposition": ["at", "from", "off"],
                "phrases": ["tear free", "tear loose", "tear something in half"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to remove something from something else by pulling it roughly or violently",
            "sensetop": "tear something + adv./prep.",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The storm nearly tore the roof off."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I tore another sheet from the pad."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He tore his clothes off *(= took them off quickly and carelessly)* and dived into the lake."
                },
                {
                    "text": "an article torn from a magazine"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Several pages had been torn out of the book."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She tore the label off the suitcase."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Our posters were torn down as quickly as we could put them up."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "rip"
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to pull yourself/somebody away by force from somebody/something that is holding you or them",
            "sensetop": "tear yourself/somebody from somebody/somethingtear yourself/somebody + adj.",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She tore herself from his grasp.",
                    "contextForm": "tear yourself/somebody from somebody/something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He tore himself free.",
                    "contextForm": "tear yourself/somebody + adj."
                },
                {
                    "text": "One error and he would have been torn loose and hurled overboard by the squalling wind."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "to injure a muscle, etc. by stretching it too much",
            "sensetop": "tear something",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a torn ligament/muscle"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She's torn a ligament in her right hand."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She tore a calf muscle playing squash."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Health problems"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "to move somewhere very quickly or in an excited way",
            "sensetop": "+ adv./prep.",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He tore off down the street."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A truck tore past the gates."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The girls looked at each other and tore off towards the house."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A dog was tearing along the road beside the truck."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 7,
            "definition": "very badly affected or damaged by something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to bring peace to a strife-torn country"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a strike-torn industry"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to be unable to decide or choose between two people, things or feelings",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I was torn between my parents and my friend."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to criticize somebody, or their work or ideas, very severely",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to destroy or defeat somebody/something completely or criticize them or it severely",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "We tore the other team apart in the second half."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The critics tore his last movie to shreds."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to strongly affect you in an emotional way",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to show that you are very angry or anxious about something",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She's keeping very calm—anyone else would be tearing their hair out."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I felt like tearing my hair out in frustration."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to destroy the most important part or aspect of something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Closing the factory tore the heart out of the community."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "(to be) in a very great hurry",
            "labels": "(especially British English)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to attack somebody very violently",
            "labels": "(often humorous)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to speak angrily to somebody who has done something wrong",
            "labels": "(British English, informal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to say that something has happened to cause your plans to fail",
            "labels": "(British English, informal)",
            "examples": []
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/teə(r)/",
                "audio": "te/tear/tear__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/teəz/",
                "audio": "te/tear/tears__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tɔː(r)/",
                "audio": "to/tear/tore__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tɔːn/",
                "audio": "to/tear/torn__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈteərɪŋ/",
                "audio": "te/tear/tearing__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ter/",
                "audio": "te/tear/tear__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/terz/",
                "audio": "te/tear/tears__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tɔːr/",
                "audio": "to/tear/tore__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tɔːrn/",
                "audio": "to/tear/torn__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈterɪŋ/",
                "audio": "te/tear/tearing__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English teran, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch teren and German zehren, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek derein ‘flay’. The noun dates from the early 17th cent."
}