sigh
Americanverb (used without object)
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to let out one's breath audibly, as from sorrow, weariness, or relief.
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to yearn or long; pine.
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to make a sound suggesting a sigh.
sighing wind.
verb (used with object)
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to express or utter with a sigh.
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to lament with sighing.
noun
verb
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(intr) to draw in and exhale audibly a deep breath as an expression of weariness, despair, relief, etc
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(intr) to make a sound resembling this
trees sighing in the wind
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to yearn, long, or pine
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(tr) to utter or express with sighing
noun
Usage
What does sigh mean? Sigh, an audible exhalation, conveys a broad range of emotions from sadness and disappointment to sarcasm and relief. People frequently write it out online to express such sentiments.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sighsimple
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sighssimple
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have sighedperfect
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has sighedperfect
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am sighingprogressive
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are sighingprogressive
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is sighingprogressive
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have been sighingperfect progressive
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has been sighingperfect progressive
Past
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sighedsimple
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had sighedperfect
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was sighingprogressive
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were sighingprogressive
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had been sighingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sigh
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb sighen, back formation from sihte “sighed,” past tense of Middle English siken, sichen “to sigh, moan,” Old English sīcan “to sigh, groan, long for”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
The sound that you make when you exhale loudly to show frustration, boredom, or relief is called a sigh. No matter how much you sigh during your family's annual car trip to the Grand Canyon, your dad won't drive any faster. Something that sounds like a human sigh is also called a sigh. The breeze might sigh in the still night air, or a screen door might sigh closed. The word sigh comes from the Old English word of the same meaning, sican, which was probably imitative, echoing the sound of a sigh.
Vocabulary lists containing sigh
"The Road Not Taken"
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"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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"The House on Mango Street" and "The Road Not Taken"
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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:
“It’s not maximalist enough,” she says with a sigh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
At last, when Universal Studios began testing the ride this spring, Garner breathed a sigh of relief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Two other officials familiar with the dinner said it was very cordial and their leaders breathed a major sigh of relief after it was over that it didn’t devolve into a shouting match.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
At that point, the then mayor of Greater Manchester let out a sigh and told me "you just can't keep having referendum after referendum".
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
He keeps his eyes trained on the water while he nods and sighs a sigh that I know means he’s not okay.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
I don’t pay attention to eye rolls or impatient sighs that might have once given me pause.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
"It's depressing… we've been in war for two and a half years and this just feels like another round," she sighs.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
"I can't imagine how helpless people must have been," she said between heavy sighs, adding: "I really regret that I didn't knock on a single door."
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
In the film’s slightly alternate reality, Charli sighs and goes along with what everyone else is telling her to do, simply because she’s never found herself in this position before.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026
Then he sighs, like I just disturbed his amazing life by walking in.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
"There's nothing we can do about it... We'll just have to put up with it for 10 days," he sighed.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
The student body collectively sighed “Alas, this too,” but then mobbed the dorms anyway, cheering and hugging fearlessly with unmasked smiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
“Paddington — so cute,” Cumming sighed as he departed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
“When you get old, they push you aside,” he sighed.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026
He sighed again and said in that case he’d better get back to the firehouse and be ready for anything.
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
But they couldn’t do that, one doctor said apologetically, sighing deeply.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Unfortunately for Pep Guardiola's side, City's defensive display will have had those same rivals sighing with relief.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
Here, Isaac attempts to outrun criticism by sighing, “The issue is that I treated you too well?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2025
“I’ve been laid off before,” Dave told me, sighing as he acknowledged that periods of looking for work are part of having a career.
From Slate ● May 20, 2025
I laid my head on the pillow, next to Helena’s sighing breath.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
