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# tear

«tear» in Mova's school dictionary: **a drop of salty water that comes from your eye, when you…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a tear, tears — rhymes with «ear»); noun (a tear, tears — rhymes with «air»); verb (tear, tears, tore, torn, tearing — rhymes with «air»)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A tear (rhymes with «ear») is a drop of salty water that comes from your eye, when you cry, laugh a lot or get something in your eye. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#m1)

2) To tear (rhymes with «air») something is to pull it apart or make a hole in it, like paper or cloth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#m2)

3) A tear (rhymes with «air») is a hole or split made by tearing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#m3)

4) To tear somewhere (rhymes with «air») is to move very fast. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science, tears clean and protect the eyes and wash out dust; onions make you cry because of a gas they give off. In feelings lessons, crying is a normal way of showing sadness, pain, relief or even joy. In crafts, you tear paper for collage. Phrases: «in tears», «burst into tears», «tears of joy», «tear up», «tear down», «wear and tear», «tear off», «tear along».

### examples

- A tear rolled down her cheek. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x1)
- He burst into tears when his goldfish died. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x2)
- Chopping onions brings tears to my eyes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x3)
- Don't tear the pages of the book. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x4)
- There's a tear in my jeans. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x5)
- Tear the paper into strips for the collage. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x6)
- The dog tore down the street after the cat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x7)
- They cried tears of joy at the wedding. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x8)
- Anastasia trembled, and burst into tears. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/#x9)

### note

A heteronym: same spelling, two sounds and meanings. «Tear» (eye) rhymes with «ear»; «tear» (rip) rhymes with «air». The verb is irregular: tear, tore, torn («I tore it», «It is torn»). Homophone of tear (rip): tare; of tear (eye): tier.

### In the corpora

- [Grown-ups sometimes cry "happy tears" when they feel strong happy feelings like love or pride.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/13-dates-engagements-and-weddings/14/)
- [It comes and goes like waves, and people show it in many ways, from tears to casseroles on the doorstep.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/24-when-someone-dies/6/)
- [Happy tears come when people are moved, touched or very happy; they pass quickly and leave people feeling warm.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/36-big-feelings-in-big-people/20/)
- [How are you feeling?" Freya bursts into tears, and then it's over much quicker than she feared.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/59-the-parents-walk-in-how-good-parents-react/9/)
- [TV talent shows are edited to be dramatic, so harsh comments and tears are often shown more because they get more viewers.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/8-singing-choirs-and-talent-shows/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «tear» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tear/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.