Sigh Meaning
/saɪ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo inhale a larger quantity of air than usual, and immediately expel it; to make a deep single audible respiration, especially as the result or involuntary expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like.
verbTo lament; to grieve.
Sentence Examples
Once outside, I gave a deep sigh of relief.
Light shines on my sigh of doubt.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the long hike, he sat down and gave a very tired ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She let out a long ____ of relief when she finally finished the difficult exam and handed it in.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English sighen (“to sigh”), back-formation from sighte, past tense form of siken, from Old English sīcan, from Proto-West Germanic *sīkan, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seykʷ- (“to pour out”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A waiter brought his aperitif, which was a small scotch and soda, and as he sipped it gratefully he sighed.
‘Civilized,’ he said to Mr. Campion. ‘Humanizing.’ […] ‘Cigars and summer days and women in big hats with swansdown face-powder, that's what it reminds me of.’"
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"He sighed deeply in his spirit."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 8:12:
"Ages to come, and men unborn, / Shall bless her name, and sigh her fate."
— 1695, Matthew Prior, An ode presented to the king, on His Majesty's arrival in Holland, after the Queen's death:
"The lassie had grace given her to refuse, but with a woeful heart, and Heriotside rode off in black discontent, leaving poor Ailie to sigh her love. He came back the next day and the next, but aye he got the same answer."
— 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
"And the coming wind did roar more loud, / And the sails did sigh like sedge."
— 1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
After the long hike, he sat down and gave a very tired ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She let out a long ____ of relief when she finally finished the difficult exam and handed it in.