rip up

phrasal verb

ripped up; ripping up; rips up

: to completely destroy (something) by tearing it into pieces

He ripped up the check.

She ripped the letter up into tiny pieces.

Examples of rip up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There are reports of settlers increasing their attacks on Palestinian villages, burning homes, killing animals and ripping up plants and olive trees and expanding their outposts. —

Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 26 May 2024 City residents and officials reported ripped up houses and snapped power lines. —

Tom Johanningmeier, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 May 2024 Existing roads would need to be ripped up and rebuilt with the transmitter coils and other necessary equipment. —

The Indianapolis Star, 25 Apr. 2024 This means construction crews need to rip up and repave roads so new buildings can get access to things such as sewers. —

Nick Rosenberger, Idaho Statesman, 22 Apr. 2024 The Super League would require the sport’s two grandmasters to rip up contracts with their conferences — contracts that were signed recently and smart business decisions. —

Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024 Matos, once the Giants’ No. 4 overall prospect, is ripping up the Cactus League. —

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2024 Someone had even ripped up and discarded his FOR SALE sign. —

Krista Stevens, Longreads, 14 Mar. 2024 This means not only a total repudiation of Palestinian statehood, but also a pledge to rip up what’s left of the Oslo Accords. —

Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rip up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.