From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishweepweep /wiːp/ ●●○ verb (past tense and past participle wept /wept/) 1 [intransitive, transitive] formal or literaryCRY 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.► see thesaurus at cryRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say cry rather than weep:She was crying all the way through the movie.2 → I could have wept3 [intransitive]MILIQUID if a wound weeps, liquid comes out of it —weep noun [singular]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 