What does tore mean?
Tore is the simple past tense of the verb tear, a common word meaning to rip, split, pull apart, or otherwise break something into pieces. It can describe the action performed by a person or force: a dog might tear a rug, or a storm might tear a roof from a building. The word is also used figuratively, as when someone tears a letter apart or tears apart an argument. Tore is standard in both British and American English and suits formal and informal contexts. Its irregular grammatical relationship with torn is important: tore normally stands alone as the past tense, while torn serves as the past participle, including after auxiliary verbs such as have, had, and was. Tore therefore records an action in the past and differs from torn, which describes the resulting condition or participates in passive and perfect constructions.
verbTore is the simple past tense of tear, meaning “ripped, split, or pulled apart.” It can describe either the action of tearing something or the action of something being torn.
- The simple past tense of tear, used to describe something that was ripped, split, or pulled apart.
"The storm tore the old fence apart."
"The dog tore the corner off the rug."
"She tore the letter into pieces before anyone could read it."
The cloth tore, but it was already torn: one irregular verb, two different grammatical jobs.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tore come from?
The form comes from Middle English tore, the irregular past tense of tear, which continues Old English teran. Old English teran is generally traced to Proto-Germanic *teraną and ultimately to the Proto-Indo-European root *der-, meaning “to tear” or “split.” The root has relatives in other Germanic languages, including German zerren, “to tear, pull apart,” while English derivatives such as tearful and tearless preserve the same lexical root.
Related word forms
How tore is actually used
Standard in both formal and informal English in British and American usage. Because tore is the simple past tense, it normally appears without an auxiliary verb; when an auxiliary is present, the past participle torn is required.
Easily confused with tore
Tore is the simple past tense of tear, while torn is the past participle, used after forms of have or be and in passive constructions.