# weep

> English word · Verb · IPA /wiːp/ · frequency rank #17,992

## Definitions
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. To lament; to complain.
3. To give off moisture in small quantities, e.g. due to condensation.
4. To give off moisture in small quantities, e.g. due to condensation.
5. To hang the branches, as if in sorrow; to be pendent; to droop; said of a plant or its branches.
6. To weep over; to bewail.

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **wet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wet)
- **WWE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wwe)
- **Wes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wes)
- **wen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wen)
- **Wei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wei)
- **woe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-woe)
- **Wie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wie)
- **wer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wer)
- **wop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wop)
- **wye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wye)
- **when** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-when)
- **were** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-were)
- **well** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-well)
- **went** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-went)
- **west** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-west)
- **wrap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-wrap)
- **whip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-whip)
- **weir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-weir)
- **woes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-woes)
- **Weld** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weep-vs-weld)

## Common misspellings (5)
`ewep`, `weepp`, `wep`, `wepe`, `wweep`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/weep