Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

tear

1 noun
     
tear1 S3 W3
1 [countable usually plural]HBH a drop of salty liquid that comes out of your eye when you are cryingCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
in tears (=crying) in floods of tears British English (=crying a lot) close to tears/on the verge of tears (=almost crying) burst into tears (=suddenly start crying) fight back (the) tears also choke back tears (=try not to cry) moved to tears (=so upset that you cry) bring tears to somebody's eyes (=make someone cry) shed tears/a tear (=cry) reduce somebody to tears (=make someone cry) somebody's eyes fill with tears tears well up in your eyes (=you start to cry) tears roll/run/stream down somebody's face/cheeks tears of joy/rage/frustration etc (=crying because you are happy, angry etc)
The children were all in tears.
She came home in floods of tears.
I could see that Sam was close to tears.
Bridget suddenly burst into tears and ran out.
He was fighting back tears as he spoke.
A lot of people were moved to tears by his story.
He kissed her cheek, a gesture that brought tears to her eyes.
I must admit I shed a few tears when the school closed.
I saw grown men reduced to tears that day.
'Please don't talk like that,' Ellen implored him, her eyes filling with tears.
By this time, tears were streaming down my face.
The tears he shed were tears of joy.
2

it'll (all) end in tears

British English spoken used to warn someone that something they are doing will cause problems or arguments between people

➔ bore somebody to tears

at bore2 (1)

➔ crocodile tears

at crocodile (4)
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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