weep
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
weeps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wept,
past participle, past
-
weeping
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
weeps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wept,
past participle, past
-
weeping
present participle
-
to weep for (someone or something); mourn with tears or other expression of sorrow.
He wept his dead brother.
-
to shed (tears); pour forth in weeping.
to weep tears of gratitude.
-
to let fall or give forth in drops.
trees weeping an odorous gum.
-
to pass, bring, put, etc., to or into a specified condition with the shedding of tears (usually followed by away, out, etc.).
to weep one's eyes out;
to weep oneself to sleep.
noun
-
weeping, or a fit of weeping.
-
the exudation of water or liquid.
noun
verb
-
to shed (tears) as an expression of grief or unhappiness
-
to utter, shedding tears
-
to mourn or lament (for something)
-
to exude (drops of liquid)
-
(intr) (of a wound, etc) to exude a watery or serous fluid
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
weepsimple
-
weepssimple
-
have weptperfect
-
has weptperfect
-
am weepingprogressive
-
are weepingprogressive
-
is weepingprogressive
-
have been weepingperfect progressive
-
has been weepingperfect progressive
Past
-
weptsimple
-
had weptperfect
-
was weepingprogressive
-
were weepingprogressive
-
had been weepingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of weep1
First recorded before 900; Middle English wepen, Old English wēpan “to wail”; cognate with Gothic wōpjan “to call,” Old Norse æpa “to cry out”
Origin of weep2
Imitative
Explanation
When you weep, you cry. If you're very empathetic, you might start to weep whenever you see other people weep. To shed tears from sadness is to weep. Some people weep rarely, only when they've suffered a true loss or tragedy. Other sensitive souls weep at songs, movies, books, and even sweet stories or pictures. Weep comes from the Old English word wepan, "shed tears or mourn over," which has a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cry or scream."
Vocabulary lists containing weep
Instead of "Said": Words For Sad Speech
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Dragon, Dragon"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The White Album
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Cooper said some developments had even featured "fake" weep vents, where decorative plastic pieces had been fitted instead of functioning openings.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
"We were forced to leave because of the Houthis," she told AFP, adding: "My children are still there -- they couldn't get out. I weep for them every day, waiting for them to escape."
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
“One day I’ll weep for this,” David thinks, a day that comes soon enough.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
All I wanted then was to sink into a pot of chicken-and-rice stew and weep.
From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2025
I listen to him weep into the phone.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Daniela Lopez, 40, weeps as she speaks with the psychologist.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
No college basketball fan weeps for the Blue Devils’ bad luck, but Duke knows better than most that a great regular season doesn’t guarantee a championship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
After a final goodbye, Glinda hides away and weeps while watching Dorothy melt Elphaba — a sequence shown only in shadow, through the crack of a closet door.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
Kywe Nyein, 71, weeps as he explains that his family are preparing to hold the funeral of his five-year-old granddaughter, Thet Hter San.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
We sit here under a huge willow tree that weeps down around us.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
He renders the original’s panoply of suffering in accessible English, as in this view of Satan: “With six eyes / He wept, and three chins let the foul tears fall / And bloody foam.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
An AFP correspondent saw people marching to the cemetery, waving Hezbollah flags as women dressed in black wept, holding pictures of the dead as an Israeli drone flew overhead.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
A man and woman held each other and wept – relatives of the dead man.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
This time, Messi was so happy, he wept.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Krogh was so relieved, Liddy reported, he’d nearly wept.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
What Howrey delivers with “Body Language” is a novel that covers all that ground while keeping the reader on the edge of their seat, alternately howling with laughter, holding their breath awaiting resolution, and weeping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
"I doubt I could have done that if I'd been employed," she says, "and I think I'd have been weeping in the toilets at the office."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Walking back to the car, weeping behind my sunglasses, I was shaky and hot and breathless, my heart hammering in my chest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The Buddha, seeing him bruised, bloody, and weeping, smiles and tells him he must bear it.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
She lay on the grass and gave herself up to weeping.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
