Tear up means either to rip something into pieces or to get tears in your eyes, and the two meanings sound different. Tear up /teə/ means to rip: a letter, a photo, a contract. Tear up /tɪə/ means your eyes fill with tears because you're moved or emotional.
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tear up + letter/photo/contract; tear it up; tear up (eyes) → teared up
- She tore up the old photos and threw them in the bin.
- He teared up when his colleagues gave him a farewell card on his last day.
What changed
First versionAt my best friend's wedding, I tore up during the speeches.
RevisionAt my best friend's wedding, I teared up during the speeches.
Tear meaning “rip” is an irregular verb: tear, tore, torn. Tear meaning “a drop from your eye” is a different word, and its past tense is regular: teared up. So I tore up at a wedding sounds as if you ripped something, while being moved is teared up.
Tear up means to rip into small pieces. Tear off means to rip off one part: tear off a coupon. And figuratively, tear up a contract means to cancel an agreement, even if the paper is still in one piece.
Your turn
I didn't need the old bank letters any more, so I ___ them up and recycled the paper.
Show the answer
tore — This is about paper being ripped, so it's tear meaning “rip”, with the past tense tore. Teared up means got tears in your eyes, which doesn't fit old letters.
Describe a moment when you teared up. Say where it was and what moved you.
I teared up at my sister's graduation when she thanked our parents in her speech.
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