Link Centre Dictionary

weep

UK/ˈwiːp/ US/ˈwɪi̯p/ fairly common

verb

1.

shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain

  • “She cried bitterly when she heard the news of his death”
  • “The girl in the wheelchair wept with frustration when she could not get up the stairs”
Synonyms
Antonyms

Origin

From Middle English wepen, from Old English wēpan (“to weep, complain, bewail, mourn over, deplore”), from Proto-West Germanic *wōpijan, from Proto-Germanic *wōpijaną (“to weep”), from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂b- (“to call, cry, complain”). Cognate with Scots weep (“to weep”), Saterland Frisian wapia (“to cry, complain”), Icelandic æpa (“to yell, shout”), Proto-Slavic *vъpiti (“to weep”).

Phrases

  • enough to make the angels weep
  • read 'em and weep
  • weep buckets
  • weep hole
  • weep in one's beer
  • weep into one's beer
  • weep Irish
  • weeping willow

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.