weep
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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weeps,
present (3rd person singular)
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wept,
past participle, past
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weeping
present participle
verb (used with object)
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weeps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wept,
past participle, past
-
weeping
present participle
-
to weep for (someone or something); mourn with tears or other expression of sorrow.
He wept his dead brother.
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to shed (tears); pour forth in weeping.
to weep tears of gratitude.
-
to let fall or give forth in drops.
trees weeping an odorous gum.
-
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
-
weeping, or a fit of weeping.
-
the exudation of water or liquid.
noun
verb
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to shed (tears) as an expression of grief or unhappiness
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to utter, shedding tears
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to mourn or lament (for something)
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to exude (drops of liquid)
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(intr) (of a wound, etc) to exude a watery or serous fluid
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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weepsimple
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weepssimple
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have weptperfect
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has weptperfect
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am weepingprogressive
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are weepingprogressive
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is weepingprogressive
-
have been weepingperfect progressive
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has been weepingperfect progressive
Past
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weptsimple
-
had weptperfect
-
was weepingprogressive
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were weepingprogressive
-
had been weepingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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”
Origin of weep2
Imitative
Explanation
When you weep, you cry. If you're very empathetic, you might start to weep whenever you see other people weep. To shed tears from sadness is to weep. Some people weep rarely, only when they've suffered a true loss or tragedy. Other sensitive souls weep at songs, movies, books, and even sweet stories or pictures. Weep comes from the Old English word wepan, "shed tears or mourn over," which has a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cry or scream."
Vocabulary lists containing weep
Instead of "Said": Words For Sad Speech
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"Dragon, Dragon"
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The White Album
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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:
All I wanted then was to sink into a pot of chicken-and-rice stew and weep.
From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2025
Watching sports is also fun, even Wisconsin football, where I laugh so I don’t weep.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Simons charged investors 5% management plus 44% of profits — and billionaires who negotiate prenups that would make Machiavelli weep begged to get in.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 15, 2025
This half-hour comedy offered so many great moments of spot-on commentary about the state of legacy journalism that I wasn’t sure if I should weep or laugh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025
Abby continued to weep for her lost doll.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Daniela Lopez, 40, weeps as she speaks with the psychologist.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Romvari weeps as she spreads them out on a table, saying “hi” softly to her brothers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
No college basketball fan weeps for the Blue Devils’ bad luck, but Duke knows better than most that a great regular season doesn’t guarantee a championship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
In his national address on Wednesday, President Sánchez urged citizens to remain vigilant and pledged a full recovery, telling victims: “The whole of Spain weeps with you… we won’t abandon you.”
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2024
Grandma weeps quietly, huge tears dampening her face.
From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Fong wept as the unanimous verdicts were read out and hugged family and friends after being released from the dock.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
This time, Messi was so happy, he wept.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
In the footage broadcast by state media, women wept over the graves; some carried photos of the deceased.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Easy: Yesterday, I was not only gripping the armrest but gripping the hand of the flight attendant who was sitting down in the aisle, soothing me as I hyperventilated and wept.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
There, as she wept and trembled, a soft breath of air came through the stillness to her, the gentle breathing of Zephyr, sweetest and mildest of winds.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Walking back to the car, weeping behind my sunglasses, I was shaky and hot and breathless, my heart hammering in my chest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The Buddha, seeing him bruised, bloody, and weeping, smiles and tells him he must bear it.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
One of the groups included a weeping mother who had lost her child.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
"No words of compassion can ease this pain of loss, this burden of great suffering, when one must bury young people," the priest told black-clothed mourners, weeping or clutching flowers and holding each other.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
This last blow overcame her, and she knelt by Beaufort’s coffin weeping bitterly, when my father entered the chamber.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
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.
