to rip it up
6
6.7
- phrasal verb
- /rɪp ɪt ʌp/
- Informal
- Rip it up!
- rip it up into pieces
- rip it up and start
- rip it up and walk away
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Watch on YouTubeI ripped up the card, I ripped it up, I put it in my pocket.
- I ripped up the card, I ripped it up, I put it in my pocket.
- Of course, Doctor Johnson did say when you have written your most brilliant purple paragraph, read it again and RIP it up.
Examples
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Go on, rip it up...
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At the end of the day, I got my journal back, and I wanted to rip it up because I didn't want my family to find out about me.
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Maybe I should just rip it up.
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As soon as each story was finished, I would rip it up so that no one could see it.
Academic text (1998) -
Go ahead, rip it up.
Blog text (16) -
I'll rip it up
-
Let's rip it up!
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After realizing it was no longer useful, she decided to rip it up and start fresh with a new plan.
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Feeling frustrated with the old contract, he chose to rip it up rather than continue with the project.
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When the proposal was rejected, they opted to rip it up and brainstorm new ideas.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Damage something so badly that it cannot be used or fixed
∞
1.0
To pull something so it breaks into pieces
792
1.7
To tear quickly and forcefully
688
2.6
To drop or throw things away in a careless way
563
1.8
To get rid of something you do not want, for example by putting it in the bin
452
1.3
To break something into two or more parts
361
1.8
To put something in the trash because you do not want it
347
4.2
Destroy something so nothing is left
206
2.8
To separate something into smaller parts to explain or study it
162
2.7
Separate something into smaller pieces
158
3.4
To break into small pieces or become weaker and collapse
124
2.7
To rip something into small pieces
116
2.6
To tear something into small thin pieces
100
2.7
To throw something away because you no longer want or need it
97
1.1
Make something into smaller pieces using scissors or a knife
83
3.0
To separate something into parts so it can be moved or fixed
67
3.7
To throw away something that is no longer useful
66
1.9
To cut something into smaller pieces by sharp blows again and again with a knife or axe
48
2.8
To tear something into small pieces
46
3.0
To separate into pieces, for example a machine or a group
39
3.2
To break something into pieces by hand
27
4.7
To damage something very badly so it breaks into pieces
21
3.8
To take something apart into separate pieces
To destroy or carry something away completely, for example by water
Antonyms
How Destroyed
Surface Forms
Morphology
rip + it + up
The meaning is directly built from 'rip' (to tear) + the particle 'up' (indicating completeness or destruction) with 'it' as the object, so 'rip it up' is predictably 'tear something into pieces' or 'completely discard/start over'. This verb+particle composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Rip it up comes from the clear picture of tearing a paper or cloth into pieces. Here rip is the action of tearing and up makes it complete, so the phrase came to mean 'to throw something away or start again' because you remove the old and begin fresh.