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tear up
verb
tear into shreds
• Syn: ↑shred, ↑rip up
• Derivationally related forms: ↑shredder (for: ↑shred), ↑shred (for: ↑shred)
• Hypernyms: ↑tear, ↑rupture, ↑snap, ↑bust
• Hyponyms: ↑tease
• Verb Frames:
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Something ——s

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Somebody ——s something

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Something ——s something

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tear up [phrasal verb]
tear up (something) or tear (something) up
1 : to completely destroy (something) by tearing it into pieces

I tore the letter up and threw it away.

— often used figuratively

They offered to tear up his old contract [=get rid of his old contract] and give him a new one.

The burglars tore the house up. [=made a mess in the house]

2 : to break apart and remove pieces of (something)

The city tore the street up to fix a broken water main.

They tore up 20 acres of forest and built a new shopping mall.

3 chiefly US, informal : to perform very well on or in (something)

They were tearing up the dance floor. [=they were dancing in very skillful, energetic, and impressive way]

He tore up the league last season.

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Main Entry: ↑tear

Useful english dictionary. 2012.