to rip up
48
2.8
- phrasal verb
- /rɪp ʌp/
- In frustration, he ripped up the invitation into small pieces.
- rip up the letter
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Watch on YouTubeAnd then she ripped up some paper towel and put that in.
- And then she ripped up some paper towel and put that in.
- And he put the the check in the bin all ripped up.
- And I literally destroyed old journals, like just angry, like ripping out pages, ripping up my poetry, like it's too sad.
Examples
-
The letters continued to arrive, and Noah continued to rip them up.
Fiction book (2002) -
We’re gonna take them and roll them around and rip them up to pieces!
-
This is a letter that I ripped up at a press conference.
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Maybe I should just rip it up.
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Or I'll rip this book up in front of you.
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I ripped up the letter and threw it away.
Fiction book (2001) -
Noah ripped the letters up.
Fiction book (2002) -
Please, don't rip this note up.
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I ripped up all the checks people were writing and tipped over the display of fancy items you can buy.
Blog text (29) -
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.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To pull something so it breaks into pieces
792
1.7
To tear quickly and forcefully
162
2.7
Separate something into smaller pieces
145
2.8
To break suddenly into many small pieces, like glass
124
2.7
To rip something into small pieces
116
2.6
To tear something into small thin pieces
97
1.1
Make something into smaller pieces using scissors or a knife
66
1.9
To cut something into smaller pieces by sharp blows again and again with a knife or axe
39
3.2
To break something into pieces by hand
27
4.7
To damage something very badly so it breaks into pieces
18
3.7
To break into small pieces or make something break apart
9
5.4
Break something into many small parts or hurt someone very badly
9
8.7
To pull something apart with great force
6
6.7
To tear something into pieces or throw it away and start again
5
3.9
To cut important papers into small pieces so no one can read them
Antonyms
How Torn
Surface Forms
Morphology
rip + up
The meaning 'to tear something into small pieces' is directly derivable from combining 'rip' (to tear) with the particle 'up' which commonly marks thoroughness or completion. This compositional pattern is a frequent, transparent phrasal-verb formation in English, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Rip up: The phrasal verb rip up comes from the simple image of tearing a page or photo into pieces—you rip it and pull up until it comes apart. So it means 'to tear something into small pieces'.