sigh
Americanverb (used without object)
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sighs,
present (3rd person singular)
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sighed,
past participle, past
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sighing
present participle
-
to let out one's breath audibly, as from sorrow, weariness, or relief.
-
to yearn or long; pine.
-
to make a sound suggesting a sigh.
sighing wind.
verb (used with object)
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sighs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sighed,
past participle, past
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sighing
present participle
-
to express or utter with a sigh.
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to lament with sighing.
noun
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sighs
plural
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:
Americans might breathe a sigh of relief with prices for gasoline down a bit from last week, but eventually they could pay a premium on the goods shipped to their homes or local grocery stores.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
So, for a few hours, Pike could breathe a sigh of relief, as the Sixth Circuit granted the stay to consider the novel details of her case.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
The NSO appeared at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night, however, with a collective sigh of relief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
That sound you hear is the sigh coming from those disappointed at the consumer-price index increase of a mere 0.1% in July.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“Don’t worry about me,” I said with a heavy sigh.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
After finding a treat for his dog Lala, who occasionally makes an appearance on the Peacock competition series, he sits down in front of his computer and sighs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
"These towns can be fun assault courses," he sighs.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Your daddy is a work in progress, I’m a work in progress,” she sighs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
This train "has not received the kind of attention that it really deserves in terms of urgency from elected leaders," sighs Schank.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
To my surprise, Lily sighs, and her spine slumps.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
“Every day we have to sign a petition to save our country, save the nature, save the city,” she sighed as we sat down.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
"I've been a fisherman for 39 years and there's never been a drought like this before," sighed fellow fisherman Aleksandar Angelov.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
"We sighed with relief - strikes act like a firebreak."
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 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
I sighed, thinking back to the Shanghai Chic show.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
But if you were in that meadow with hundreds of happy people sighing out every “ah-ah” in unison, you would have quickly picked up that refrain and maybe even joined the chorus.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Another seemingly innocuous cartoon shows a man at his desk sighing, "My train of thought has derailed."
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 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
Throughout the hearing, Ohta repeatedly signaled skepticism about the case, often sighing at state prosecutors or rolling his eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
He had found that this was better OOO than facing the sighing blackness ahead.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
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.
