# weep

/ˈwip/ (US) · /wˈiːp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/weep
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. to cry

verb · CEFR B2 · Literary

to cry, usually because you feel a very strong emotion like sadness or great joy.

For teachers: to shed tears as an expression of intense emotion, often accompanied by sobbing. Intransitive or transitive when taking a cognate object like 'tears'.

- The old man began to weep when he saw his daughter after twenty years.
- She sat by the window and wept silently, overwhelmed by a profound sense of loss that words could not adequately capture.

### 2. to leak liquid

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to slowly produce or leak a small amount of liquid.

For teachers: to exude or discharge moisture or fluid in small quantities. Often used in medical contexts regarding wounds or in engineering regarding condensation.

- The cut on his knee started to weep a little, so he put a clean bandage on it.
- The physician noted that the surgical incision had begun to weep a clear serous fluid, indicating the early stages of a localized inflammatory response.

### 3. drooping branches

verb · CEFR C2 · Literary

to have branches that hang down toward the ground.

For teachers: to have branches that hang or droop toward the ground, characteristic of certain tree varieties.

- The willow trees weep over the river, their long branches touching the water.
- The ancient willow seemed to weep over the stagnant pond, its pendulous branches creating a curtain of green that obscured the far bank.

### 4. a period of crying

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal · British English

a period of time spent crying.

For teachers: an instance or spell of crying. Usually used with the verb 'have'.

- Sometimes you just need to have a good weep to feel better.
- After receiving the news, she retreated to her room for a long weep, emerging only when she felt composed enough to speak.

## Examples

- She began to weep when she heard the sad news.
- The protagonist sits by the window to weep for his lost home in the final scene of the play.
- In many classical tragedies, the chorus is used to weep for the fallen hero, providing a collective voice for the audience's shared grief.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.