weep

¹

[ weep ]

verb (used without object)

, wept [wept], weep·ing [wee, -ping].

1. to express grief, sorrow, or any overpowering emotion by shedding tears; shed tears; cry:

   to weep for joy;

   to weep with rage.

   Synonyms: lament, wail, sob

   Antonyms: rejoice, laugh

2. to let fall drops of water or other liquid; drip; leak:

   The old water tank was weeping at the seams.

3. to exude water or liquid, as soil, a rock, a plant stem, or a sore.

verb (used with object)

, wept [wept], weep·ing [wee, -ping].

1. to weep for (someone or something); mourn with tears or other expression of sorrow:

   He wept his dead brother.

   Synonyms: lament, bemoan, bewail

2. to shed (tears); pour forth in weeping:

   to weep tears of gratitude.

3. to let fall or give forth in drops:

   trees weeping an odorous gum.

4. 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

1. weeping, or a fit of weeping.
2. the exudation of water or liquid.

weep

²

[ weep ]

noun

, British Dialect.

1. the lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, of Europe.

weep

/ wiːp /

verb

1. to shed (tears) as an expression of grief or unhappiness
2. trfoll byout to utter, shedding tears
3. whenintr, foll by for to mourn or lament (for something)
4. to exude (drops of liquid)
5. intr (of a wound, etc) to exude a watery or serous fluid

noun

1. a spell of weeping

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of weep¹

Old English wēpan; related to Gothic wōpjan, Old High German wuofan, Old Slavonic vabiti to call

Example Sentences

After all that, “The West Wing’s” nobility of purpose is enough to make one weep.

From Los Angeles Times

But viewers may be more inclined to weep at how this would-be tearjerker relies on its remarkable star to uplift an otherwise insufferable film.

From Salon

It was only when she listened back to her interview with police, describing how she murdered her mother, that she began to weep.

From BBC

The Spanish-language opera, which premiered at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in 2022, sees the Passion of Christ through the eyes of three unnamed, often ignored women who weep for Jesus on his way to crucifixion — an idea that sprung from conversations between Lucero and Stacy Brightman, then the company’s Vice President of Education and Community Outreach, about the traditional stations of the cross.

From Salon

She enters these Olympics as the hero of the type of comeback story that we love to weep and cheer over.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• break down
• complain
• grieve
• howl
• moan
• mourn
• sob
• wail
• whimper