weeping

UK: /ˈwiːpɪŋ/ US: (wē′ping)

From the verb weep: (⇒ conjugate)

weeping is: ⓘ

v pres p

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

weep•ing  (wē′ping), adj. 

1. expressing grief, sorrow, or any overwhelming emotion by shedding tears:
   weeping multitudes.
2. tearful;
   weepy:
   a weeping fit.
3. tending or liable to cry;
   given to crying.
4. dripping or oozing liquid.
5. (of trees, shrubs, etc.) having slender, drooping branches.

• bef. 900; Middle English; Old English wepende. See weep¹, -ing²

weep′ing•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

weeping / ˈwiːpɪŋ/ adjective

1. (of plants) having slender hanging branches

ˈweepingly adverb

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

weep¹ /wip/   v., wept/wɛpt/  weep•ing. 

1. to shed (tears) because of strong emotion: [no object]
   They wept for days over his sudden death.
   [~ + object]
   wept bitter tears.
2. to give out or exude (liquid, as water or blood): [no object]
   The wound is weeping.
   [~ + object]
   a wound weeping blood.

weep•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

weep¹  (wēp), v., wept, weep•ing, n. 
v.i. 

1. to express grief, sorrow, or any overpowering emotion by shedding tears;
   shed tears;
   cry:
   to weep for joy; to weep with rage.
2. to let fall drops of water or other liquid;
   drip;
   leak:
   The old water tank was weeping at the seams.
3. to exude water or liquid, as soil, a rock, a plant stem, or a sore.

v.t. 
4. to weep for (someone or something);
   mourn with tears or other expression of sorrow:
   He wept his dead brother.
5. to shed (tears);
   pour forth in weeping:
   to weep tears of gratitude.
6. to let fall or give forth in drops:
   trees weeping an odorous gum.
7. to pass, bring, put, etc., to or into a specified condition with the shedding of tears (usually fol. by away, out, etc.):
   to weep one's eyes out; to weep oneself to sleep.

n. 
8. weeping, or a fit of weeping.
9. the exudation of water or liquid.
• bef. 900; Middle English wepen, Old English wēpan to wail; cognate with Gothic wōpjan to call, Old Norse æpa to cry out
Synonyms
• 1. sob; wail, lament.
• 4. bewail, bemoan, lament.
Antonyms
• 1. laugh, rejoice.

weep²  (wēp), n. [Brit. Dial.]

1. the lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, of Europe.

• imitative

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

weep / wiːp/ verb (weeps, weeping, wept)

1. to shed (tears) as an expression of grief or unhappiness
2. (transitive) followed by out: to utter, shedding tears
3. when intr, followed by for: to mourn or lament (for something)
4. to exude (drops of liquid)
5. (intransitive) (of a wound, etc) to exude a watery or serous fluid

noun

1. a spell of weeping

Etymology: Old English wēpan; related to Gothic wōpjan, Old High German wuofan, Old Slavonic vabiti to call