1. Home
2. Idioms
3. tear away

tear away

---

---

tear away (from someone or something)

to leave someone or something, running. Dave tore away from Jill, leaving her to find her own way home. Roger tore away from the meeting, trying to make his train.

See also: away, tear

tear (oneself) away (from someone or something)

Fig. to force oneself to leave someone or something. Do you think you can tear yourself away from your friends for dinner? I could hardly tear myself away from the concert.

See also: away, tear

tear something away

 (from someone or something)

1. to peel something from someone or something. The paramedic tore the clothing away from the burn victim and began to treat the wounds immediately. She tore away the clothing from the victim. She tore the clothing away.

2. to quickly take something away from someone or something. I tore the firecracker away from the child and threw it in the lake. Liz tore away the cover from the book. She tore the wrapping paper away.

See also: away, tear

tear yourself away (from somebody/something)

to force yourself to leave a person or activity I'm glad you managed to tear yourself away from the TV and come eat dinner with us! These video games offer plenty of action – you will hardly be able to tear yourself away.

See also: away, tear

tear away

Remove oneself unwillingly or reluctantly, as in I couldn't tear myself away from that painting. [Late 1700s]

See also: away, tear

tear away

v.

1. To remove someone or something by force: The mugger tore my bag away from me. The security guard tore away the passenger's knife.

2. To remove someone unwillingly or reluctantly: The book was so suspenseful that I couldn't tear myself away from it. We can't tear the children away from the video games, so we bought a system for the car.

3. To leave or drive off rapidly: When the stoplight turned green, the taxi tore away.

See also: away, tear