mope
[ mohp ]
/ moʊp /
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.
Nearby words
mop up the floor with, mop-up, mopani, mopani worm, mopboard, mope, moped, mopery, mopes, mopey, 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
/ (məʊp) /
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
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Word Origin and History for mope
mope
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