mope
Americanverb (used without object)
-
mopes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
moped,
past participle, past
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moping
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
mopes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
moped,
past participle, past
-
moping
present participle
noun
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a person who mopes or is given to moping.
-
mopes, depressed spirits; blues.
verb
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to be gloomy or apathetic
there's no time to mope
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to move or act in an aimless way
he moped around the flat
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mopesimple
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mopessimple
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have mopedperfect
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has mopedperfect
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am mopingprogressive
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are mopingprogressive
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is mopingprogressive
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have been mopingperfect progressive
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has been mopingperfect progressive
Past
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mopedsimple
-
had mopedperfect
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was mopingprogressive
-
were mopingprogressive
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had been mopingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mope
First recorded in 1560–70; variant of mop 2
Explanation
When you're bummed out, I bet you sometimes mope. Moping is something people do when they're feeling gloomy and doomy and sad. Moping never solved a problem, but we all do it when things aren't going our way. A moping person is usually frowning, slouched over, quiet, and maybe even lying down. We mope when we're sad, but part of moping is directed at other people, because moping is at least a little public. When someone says you're "moping around," they can tell you're trying to let everyone know how sad you are. To mope is to say "Hey! Somebody cheer me up!"
Vocabulary lists containing mope
"The Mixer," Vocabulary from the short story
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"The Open Window"
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"Sisters" by Raina Telgemeier
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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:
The alternative is to mope and boo and there's no future in that.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
He’s since apologized, saying, “I do town halls all around the world, and as you know, I mope sometimes.”
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2025
Fortunately, Sennott is entertaining even as a mope.
From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 2024
According to the director, Roberts proceeded to mope through the casting process, which included readings with the likes of Russell Crowe, Ralph Fiennes, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
‘And cease moping. You mope and drool around until I cannot bear to look on you.’
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
He usually follows me around the house, and he mopes when I’m gone.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 27, 2022
“Maddie doesn’t listen to me,” she complains, then mopes.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2021
While David mopes around, wallowing in his angst, Georgia is a model of multitasking, caring for the kids, finishing a novel and, at one point, helping a friend give birth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2020
It seems cruel to send her off to live her final years with my in-laws because she gets sad and mopes when we’re not around.
From Slate ● Jan. 24, 2020
He mopes around the house, resdess, pretending to be coming down with a cold.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
A ballroom dancer who coddles his pet rats—Fred and Ginger—Declan rides a moped that his colleague, Sara Xiu, describes as “that pitiful hair-dryer on wheels.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“To ride a motorcycle or moped, you need to have the appropriate driver’s license and comply with rules of the road.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
Pulling up his laptop, Dallas shows off the art for a single: On a majestic winding Italian road, ian perches pensively on a white moped, in an all-white yacht outfit, barefoot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
Housed in a former moped shop, the Virgil Village store offers a selection of novelty items and streetwear treasures, curated by both Kurata and Staunton.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
When they passed the Bothill house, Specimen moped out to join them.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
He doesn’t respond to his various wake-up calls with stubborn defiance but a curiosity that shifts his moping into something akin to a geeky, fun-loving second adolescence.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026
Instead of moping over the setback, Ohtani has started eyeing his next boundary-pushing maneuver: To be a leadoff hitter and high-leverage reliever in the same game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
As macho as the protagonist of a Lifetime movie, moping like an adolescent and watching too much TV, Mr. White’s Springsteen is clearly depressed, but Mr. Cooper’s script doesn’t provide much illumination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
"My whole life turned upside down, and I spent ages moping and just sitting around," said the 34-year-old.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2025
You could spend your whole life feeling bad about it, and I get the idea Mother especially is still moping around.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
