rip vs tear

rip

verb
  • To move or act fast; to rush headlong. 

  • To mock or criticize (someone or something). (often used with on and into) 

  • To steal; to rip off. 

  • To fart. 

  • To divide or separate the parts of (especially something flimsy, such as paper or fabric), by cutting or tearing; to tear off or out by violence. 

  • To tear apart; to rapidly become two parts. 

  • To surf extremely well. 

  • To get by, or as if by, cutting or tearing. 

  • To take a "hit" of marijuana. 

  • To copy data from a CD, DVD, Internet stream, etc., to a hard drive, portable device, etc. 

  • To move quickly and destructively. 

  • To cut wood along (parallel to) the grain. 

noun
  • A kind of glissando leading up to the main note to be played. 

  • A type of strong, rough tide or current. 

  • Data or audio copied from a CD, DVD, Internet stream, etc. to a hard drive, portable device, etc. 

  • A handful of unthreshed grain. 

  • A comical, embarrassing, or hypocritical event or action. 

  • A tear (in paper, etc.). 

  • A black mark given for substandard schoolwork. 

  • A hit (dose) of marijuana. 

  • Something ripped off or stolen; a work resulting from plagiarism. 

  • A wicker basket for fish. 

  • A rip current: a strong outflow of surface water, away from the shore, that returns water from incoming waves. 

  • Something unfairly expensive, a rip-off. 

  • A joyride. 

tear

verb
  • To move or act with great speed, energy, or violence. 

  • To destroy or reduce abstract unity or coherence, such as social, political or emotional. 

  • To injure as if by pulling apart. 

  • To produce tears. 

  • To make (an opening) with force or energy. 

  • To become torn, especially accidentally. 

  • To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate. 

  • To remove by tearing. 

  • To smash or enter something with great force. 

  • To demolish 

noun
  • A rampage. 

  • A partially vitrified bit of clay in glass. 

  • A hole or break caused by tearing. 

  • A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation. 

  • Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins. 

  • That which causes or accompanies tears; a lament; a dirge. 

How often have the words rip and tear occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )