Weep Meaning
/wiːp/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo cry; to shed tears, especially when accompanied with sobbing or other difficulty speaking, as an expression of emotion such as sadness or joy.
verbTo lament; to complain.
Sentence Examples
To weep is to make less the depth of grief.
I weep for my lost youth.
The sad movie made many people in the audience weep silently.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sad movie made her ____, and tears ran down her cheeks.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The news of the tragedy made many millions of people across the country ____ with deep and sincere sadness today.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"They wept together in silence."
— 1847 November 1, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline, a Tale of Acadie, Boston, Mass.: William D. Ticknor & Company, →OCLC, part I:
"They weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 11:13:
"The blood weeps from my heart."
— c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
"The willows weep and the moonbeams sleep / On the mariner's silent grave."
— 1893, Edward William Cole, The best song book in the world, page 314:
"Fair Venus wept the sad disaster
Of having lost her favorite dove."
— 1717, Matthew Prior, The Dove:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sad movie made her ____, and tears ran down her cheeks.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The news of the tragedy made many millions of people across the country ____ with deep and sincere sadness today.