tearaway

1 of 2

noun

tear·​away ˈter-ə-ˌwā How to pronounce tearaway (audio)
British
: a rebellious and unruly or reckless young person

tear away

2 of 2

verb

tore away; torn away; tearing away; tears away

transitive verb

: to remove (someone, such as oneself) reluctantly

Examples of tearaway in a Sentence

Noun a gang of teenage tearaways
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Folding cardboard kiosks in employee breakrooms with a tearaway pad to submit ideas to corporate. Elizabeth Baskin, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024 Lululemon Women’s Tear-away Mid-rise Track Pants $128 $69 at Lululemon I was born in 1989 and fondly remember when tearaways were all the rage in the late ‘90s. Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 28 Nov. 2024
Verb
The collapse occurred when a portion of the pier, already weakened from previous storms, was torn away by the high surf, sending three engineers into the water. Amanda Castro, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024 The cab tumbled over and over as the trailer tore away spilling its contents down an embankment into Mill Creek below. Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean, 3 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for tearaway 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1950, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1699, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tearaway was circa 1699

Dictionary Entries Near tearaway

tear away

tearaway

tear bag

Cite this Entry

“Tearaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tearaway. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on tearaway

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