mourn
Americanverb (used without object)
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mourns,
present (3rd person singular)
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mourned,
past participle, past
-
mourning
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
mourns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mourned,
past participle, past
-
mourning
present participle
-
to feel or express sorrow or grief over (misfortune, loss, or anything regretted); deplore.
-
to grieve or lament over (the dead).
-
to utter in a sorrowful manner.
verb
-
to feel or express sadness for the death or loss of (someone or something)
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(intr) to observe the customs of mourning, as by wearing black
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(tr) to grieve over (loss or misfortune)
Synonym Usage
See grieve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mournsimple
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mournssimple
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have mournedperfect
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has mournedperfect
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am mourningprogressive
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are mourningprogressive
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is mourningprogressive
-
have been mourningperfect progressive
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has been mourningperfect progressive
Past
-
mournedsimple
-
had mournedperfect
-
was mourningprogressive
-
were mourningprogressive
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had been mourningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mourn
First recorded before 900; Middle English mo(u)rnen, Old English murnan; cognate with Old High German mornēn, Old Norse morna, Gothic maurnan
Explanation
To mourn is to grieve for someone who has died, especially a loved one. One of the hardest experiences of childhood is when you mourn the loss of a beloved pet. You can also mourn for things that you've lost, not only pets and people who have died. If your local library branch is forced to close, you might mourn its loss, missing being able to walk there from your house. The Old English root word of mourn is murnan, which means not only to mourn, but also to be anxious. Related words include "mourner" and "mournful."
Vocabulary lists containing mourn
Instead of "Said": Words For Sad Speech
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 14–18
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Firefighters and police officers stood around the Michigan September 11 Memorial in Wentworth Park, where the tribute was built in a public space that has been used to mourn firefighters since 1934.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The group also operated a museum dedicated to the crackdown and held events, including a yearly washing of the "Pillar of Shame" -- a statue to mourn victims.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
The various 9/11 memorials may have given citizens a space to mourn the national tragedy, the authors argue, but they occasionally have attracted controversy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
She appealed to the army's leadership and President Yoweri Museveni to allow the family to mourn and bury Oyo in peace on Saturday.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
She didn’t mourn, and she didn’t talk about him, not even to curse him for leaving them behind.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
“The defense recognizes and mourns the loss of a young life,” she said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
TV anchors always lead into the story of a celebrity who’s died, “The nation mourns today.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
"To the loved ones of those lost, and to their fellow crew members - some who are still battling the flames – know that the State of Colorado mourns alongside you," the governor added.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
And in “Bliss,” she mourns a relationship that could have been: “What hurts the most /Is we almost had it for a moment.”
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
“When a man’s beloved wife dies, he mourns her forever—even if he marries again for companionship. Your mother is a hard act to follow. She will always be the love of your life.”
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
The country's largest and most influential traditional institution, the Buganda Kingdom, said it mourned with the people of Tooro following the death of their monarch, labelling him a valuable figure to Uganda.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Klitschko, a multiple-time heavyweight world champion, on Monday evening mourned the “Heroes” star and his former partner in an emotional tribute shared to Instagram.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Mahalia Jackson died at only 60; at her funeral Belafonte mourned her as “the single most powerful black woman in America.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Graham as one of Israel’s strongest friends in Washington and mourned the loss of a close personal friend.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
In the days after the unexpected loss, the family mourned, but Elizabeth’s father, Judge Daniel Cady, was inconsolable.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Parton died last month at the age of 80, plunging her fans into mourning for a singer-songwriter, philanthropist and businesswoman whom many saw as a unifying figure in a divided America.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
M23 declared three days of mourning on Friday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
Dad is in perpetual mourning for a son who died in the first Gulf War and considers John, in comparison, a milquetoasty pencil pusher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to pay their respects after 13 days of national mourning.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
The men’s faces, too, were covered with stubble because they would not be allowed to shave until the period of mourning was over.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
