tear it

Ruin something, spoil one's chances, as in She knew she'd torn it when she lost the address. It is often put as that tears it, as in He's a whole week late—well, that tears it for the September issue. [Colloquial; early 1900s]

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“The Rat Race” is a nod at Carrie’s discovery that her courtyard’s garden is infested with vermin, forcing her to tear it out and start over.

From

"It's not realistic to think you can repair it. You'd have to tear it up and start over."

From

“For the architect now to tear it all down so quickly… irrespective of what happens from here on, I think it’s already been a very dramatic set of events that has no parallel in recent times,” said Jayant Menon, a research fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute who previously served as lead economist at the Asian Development Bank.

From

"We want to build trust, not tear it down."

From

Republicans, meanwhile just want to tear it all apart.

From

tear into tearjerker

Browse