What does tear up mean?
The phrasal verb tear up , when pronounced so “tear” rhymes with “care,” has the following meanings:
- “Pull or rip into smaller pieces” (e.g., “Please tear the boxes up and put them in the recycling”)
- “Remove or destroy completely,” especially infrastructure or land (e.g., “They use bulldozers to tear up the forest”)
- “Perform something extremely well” (e.g., “You guys really tore it up on stage today!)—this is an informal usage
The past tense of tear in this phrasal verb is “tore,” the past participle is “torn.
The phrasal verb tear up , when pronounced so “tear” rhymes with “here,” means “begin to form tears in your eyes” (e.g., “He noticed that she was tearing up and offered her a tissue”). The past participle and past tense form of this phrasal verb is “teared up.”