weep

¹ American  

[weep] / wip /

noun

British Dialect.

1. the lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, of Europe.

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weep ² American  

[weep] / wip /

verb (used without object)

wept, weeping

1. to express grief, sorrow, or any overpowering emotion by shedding tears; shed tears; cry.

   to weep for joy;

   to weep with rage.

   Synonyms:

   lament, wail, sob

   Antonyms:

   rejoice, laugh

2. to let fall drops of water or other liquid; drip; leak.

   The old water tank was weeping at the seams.

3. to exude water or liquid, as soil, a rock, a plant stem, or a sore.

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verb (used with object)

wept, weeping

1. to weep for (someone or something); mourn with tears or other expression of sorrow.

   He wept his dead brother.

   Synonyms:

   lament, bemoan, bewail

2. to shed (tears); pour forth in weeping.

   to weep tears of gratitude.

3. to let fall or give forth in drops.

   trees weeping an odorous gum.

4. to pass, bring, put, etc., to or into a specified condition with the shedding of tears (usually followed by away, out, etc.).

   to weep one's eyes out;

   to weep oneself to sleep.

noun

1. weeping, or a fit of weeping.

2. the exudation of water or liquid.

weep British  

/ wiːp /

verb

1. to shed (tears) as an expression of grief or unhappiness

2. to utter, shedding tears

3. to mourn or lament (for something)

4. to exude (drops of liquid)

5. (intr) (of a wound, etc) to exude a watery or serous fluid

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noun

1. a spell of weeping

Etymology

Origin of weep¹

Imitative

Origin of weep¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English wepen, Old English wēpan “to wail”; cognate with Gothic wōpjan “to call,” Old Norse æpa “to cry out”

Example Sentences

Jeremy would nod, leaning his head against her shoulder, trying not to weep.

From Literature

That’s the shortest verse in the King James Version, consisting of only two words: “Jesus wept.”

From Los Angeles Times

I fell to my knees and allowed myself to weep for all that was lost: Babci, Father, Mother.

From Literature

“On the north side,” Dorothy recalled, “we could see water from melting snow and ice. It was as though the mountain was weeping.”

From Literature

As it was played to the jury, Warren wept in the dock and did not watch.

From BBC

Related Words

• break down
• complain
• grieve
• howl
• moan
• mourn
• sob
• wail
• whimper