weep

/wiːp/

//wiːp// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"weep" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“weep” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,992. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,992
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cry; to shed tears, especially when accompanied with sobbing or other difficulty speaking, as an expression of emotion such as sadness or joy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-weep · weep · English

weep · rank #17,992 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,992
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH welch

Nearest frequency peer: welch (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “weep”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “weep” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

weep vs wet
50% similar
weep vs WWE
0% similar
weep vs Wes
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for weep
PropertyValue
Headwordweep
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/wiːp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#17,992
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “weep”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).weeplands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “welch” (#17,993), “vicar” (#17,990), “woes” (#17,994). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “weep” is #17,992. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around weep (IPA /wiːp/), averb. Corpus frequency is #17,992 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for weep, with forms such as "ewep", "weepp", and "wep". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wet", "WWE", "Wes", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 Sco… The correct English form is weep, spelled W-E-E-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cry; to shed tears, especially when accompanied with sobbing or other difficulty speaking, as an expression of emotion such as sadness or joy.
  2. 2
    To lament; to complain.
  3. 3
    To give off moisture in small quantities, e.g. due to condensation.
  4. 4
    To give off moisture in small quantities, e.g. due to condensation.
  5. 5
    To hang the branches, as if in sorrow; to be pendent; to droop; said of a plant or its branches.
  6. 6
    To weep over; to bewail.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how weep appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. They wept together in silence.
  2. They weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.

Etymology

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”).

Synonyms

beweepburst into tearscrycry one's eyes outgreetshed a tearshed tearssquirt somewailweep

Antonyms

laugh

This word in other languages

llorar(Español)pleurer(Français)weinen(Deutsch)chorar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ewep
  • weepp
  • wep
  • wepe
  • wweep

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of weep - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ewep2weepp1wep1wepe2wweep1
Edit distance from "weep"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "weep"?
"weep" is spelled W-E-E-P. The IPA pronunciation is /wiːp/.
What does "weep" mean?
As a verb, "weep" means: To cry; to shed tears, especially when accompanied with sobbing or other difficulty speaking, as an expression of emotion such as sadness or joy.
What words are commonly confused with "weep"?
"weep" is commonly confused with "wet", "WWE", "Wes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "weep"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "weep" is /wiːp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "weep"?
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”). Cognat... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "weep", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

woes#17,994ting#17,977tart#17,975tack#17,973

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

otter5 variantsfins5 variantsIgor5 variantsNero5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list