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definitions

mope

[mohp]
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verb (used without object), moped, mop·ing.

to be sunk in dejection or listless apathy; sulk; brood.

verb (used with object), moped, mop·ing.

to make dejected, listless, or apathetic.

noun

a person who mopes or is given to moping.
mopes, depressed spirits; blues.

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RELATED WORDS

brood, sulk, chafe, despond, grumble, regret, grump, lament, repine, grieve, yearn, pine, moon, idle, despair, sink, ache, languish, bleed, fret

Nearby words

  1. mop up the floor with,
  2. mop-up,
  3. mopani,
  4. mopani worm,
  5. mopboard,
  6. moped,
  7. mopery,
  8. mopes,
  9. mopey,
  10. mopish

Origin of mope

First recorded in 1560–70; variant of mop2
Related formsmop·er, nounmop·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mope

British Dictionary definitions for mope

mope

verb (intr)

to be gloomy or apatheticthere's no time to mope
to move or act in an aimless wayhe moped around the flat

noun

a gloomy person
See also mopes
Derived Formsmoper, nounmopy, adjective

Word Origin for mope

C16: perhaps from obsolete mope fool and related to mop ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for mope

mope

v.

1560s, "to move and act unconsciously;" 1580s, "to be listless and apathetic," the sound of the word perhaps somehow suggestive of low feelings (cf. Low German mopen "to sulk," Dutch moppen "to grumble, to grouse," Danish maabe, dialectal Swedish mopa "to mope"). Related: Moped; moping; mopey; mopish.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper