weeper

[ wee-per ]

noun

1. a person who weeps. weep.
2. (formerly) a hired mourner at a funeral.
3. something worn as a badge of mourning, as a widow's black veil.
4. a wine bottle that has lost some of its contents through the cork.
5. any of various loose-hanging, streamerlike objects, as a long, hanging hatband or a strand of moss hanging from a tree.
6. Informal. a sad story, motion picture, song, or the like, that is apt to make one cry.

weeper

/ ˈwiːpə /

noun

1. a person who weeps, esp a hired mourner
2. something worn as a sign of mourning
3. a hole through a wall, to allow water to drain away

Word History and Origins

Origin of weeper¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; weep ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

“There might even be some happy songs coming” — a surprise, perhaps, for a woman whose debut closes with a gorgeous barroom weeper called “Sad Songs for Sad People.”

From Los Angeles Times

As we will soon learn, George, a Midwestern farmer in late middle age, is stony and unsentimental, the opposite of a weeper.

From New York Times

I know I wasn't supposed to, but the second time I watched the emotionally disemboweling prestige weeper "Dear Edward," the Apple TV+ adaptation of Ann Napolitano's best-selling 2020 novel, I thought of Prince Harry.

From Salon

Even if the rain abates, old asphalt is notoriously difficult to dry because of weepers — the moisture that collects under the surface and then seeps through the cracks after a rainfall.

From Seattle Times

My challenge for myself as a writer was to say, "Can I write about these things and have it not be a weeper?"

From Salon

Related Words

• pallbearer