weep

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weep /wiːp/ ●●○ verb (past tense and past participle wept /wept/)  1  [intransitive, transitive] formal or literaryCRY to cry, especially because you feel very sad 〔尤因悲伤〕哭泣，流(泪) James broke down and wept. 詹姆斯控制不住感情，哭了起来。weep for She wept for the loss of her mother. 她因母亲去世而哭泣。 He wept bitterly (=cried a lot) when it was time for us to leave. 我们要分别的时候他痛哭了一场。► see thesaurus at cry RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say cry rather than weep: 在日常英语中，人们一般说cry，而不说weepShe was crying all the way through the movie. 看电影时她从头哭到尾。2  I could have wept spokenDISAPPOINTED used to say that you felt very disappointed about something 我真想大哭一场 I could have wept thinking what I’d missed. 想想自己错过的这一切，我真想大哭一场。3. [intransitive]MILIQUID if a wound weeps, liquid comes out of it 〔伤口〕渗出液体 —weep noun [singular]n COLLOCATIONSadverbsopenlySome of the mourners wept openly.bitterly (=crying hard)I heard the sound of a woman weeping bitterly.quietly/silentlyHe was weeping quietly, allowing the tears to run down his cheeks.nounsweep tearsShe wept bitter tears of self-reproach.weep buckets informal (=produce a lot of tears)I didn’t know if she would get well, and I wept buckets every night.phrasesbreak down and weep (=start crying)As she watched his plane taxi away, she broke down and wept.weep and wail (=cry and make loud sad noises – often used humorously)The baby wept and wailed all the way through the ceremony.→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

weep• Jesus wept.• She sat beside her dying father and wept.• And then she dipped her head, closed her eyes, and wept.• But all these alternatives can carry a price more damaging than weeping.• How I would wake weeping, and in the anguish of my heart exclaim upon sweet Calne in Wiltshire!• They surrounded Odysseus, weeping and laughing and welcoming him home until they stirred within his own heart the desire to weep.• His mother wept bitterly and his father sat grim-faced.• People from all walks of life are involved, and they are weeping in the streets.• Thousands of French citizens, many weeping openly, bade a silent farewell to Mitterand.• They wept, so great was their desire to stay, tasting for ever the honey-sweet flowers.• He left the room and in his bed he wept with a violence he had never known before, spasm following spasm.• I remember weeping with pride when my first son was born.wept bitterly• At the trial, she wept bitterly.• Ana had wept bitterly and Mitch had stated quite categorically that he would be back.• According to Leopold, young Thomas wept bitterly when the time came to part.Origin weep Old English wepan

weep verb →REGISTER1 →n COLLOCATIONS1LDOCE OnlineChinese  

especially cry, Corpus you feel because to

weep
weep /wiːp/ verb (past tense and past participle wept /wept/)1. [intransitive and transitive] formal or literary to cry, especially because you feel very sad:
    James broke down and wept.
    weep for
    She wept for the loss of her mother.
    He wept bitterly (=cried a lot) when it was time for us to leave.
  REGISTER
    In everyday English, people usually say cry rather than weep:
   ▪ She was crying all the way through the movie.
2. I could have wept spoken used to say that you felt very disappointed about something:
    I could have wept thinking what I’d missed.
3. [intransitive] if a wound weeps, liquid comes out of it
—weep noun [singular]
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adverbs
   ▪ openly Some of the mourners wept openly.
   ▪ bitterly (=crying hard) I heard the sound of a woman weeping bitterly.
   ▪ quietly/silently He was weeping quietly, allowing the tears to run down his cheeks.
■ nouns
   ▪ weep tears She wept bitter tears of self-reproach.
   ▪ weep buckets informal (=produce a lot of tears) I didn’t know if she would get well, and I wept buckets every night.
■ phrases
   ▪ break down and weep (=start crying) As she watched his plane taxi away, she broke down and wept.
   ▪ weep and wail (=cry and make loud sad noises – often used humorously) The baby wept and wailed all the way through the ceremony.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ cry to produce tears from your eyes: Don’t cry – everything will be all right! | Men aren’t supposed to cry.
   ▪ cry your eyes out especially spoken to cry a lot and for a long time: I cried my eyes out when I watched ‘Titanic’.
   ▪ be in tears to be crying: By the end of his story, we were all in tears.
   ▪ be close to tears to be almost crying: You could see that she was close to tears.
   ▪ weep literary to cry, especially for a long time: His mother put her head on the table and wept.
   ▪ sob to cry, taking sudden loud breaths: I could hear someone sobbing in the next room.
   ▪ wail /weɪl/ to cry very loudly in a high voice: The baby started wailing for its mother.
   ▪ whimper /ˈwɪmpə $ -ər/ to cry quietly and weakly: She began rocking to and fro, whimpering softly.
   ▪ hold/fight back the tears to make a big effort not to cry: She told her story, struggling to hold back the tears.
   ▪ your eyes water if your eyes water, they have tears in them, for example because of smoke, wind, or when you are cutting onions: The onions were making my eyes water.