mourning

noun

mourn·​ing ˈmȯr-niŋ 

1

: the act of sorrowing

She is still in mourning for her dead husband.

2

a

: an outward sign (such as black clothes or an armband) of grief for a person's death

Lots of people there, and only one man in full mourning.

—Arnold Bennett

b

: a period of time during which signs of grief are shown

… after a long mourning, resume their ordinary dresses.

—Henry Reed

Examples of mourning in a Sentence

a day of national mourning

She is still in mourning for her dead husband.

The whole town was in mourning.

a period of deep mourning

His widow was dressed in mourning.

Recent Examples on the Web

So long Angelo Gasca The high school sports community was in mourning after the death of Venice football coach Angelo Gasca. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026

Pregnancy loss is a singular kind of mourning. —Vaughan Bagley, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 2026

But families will continue to call, communities will cry in mourning, and friends will gather on the dance floor. —Sarah Ventre, NPR, 20 Mar. 2026

But more important is the feeling of the walls closing in on us in Syria, or the public mourning in the streets of Ukraine. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mourning

• go into mourning
• mourning cloak
• mourning dove

Rhymes for mourning

• corning
• horning
• morning
• scorning
• warning
• adorning
• forewarning
• midmorning

Kids Definition

mourning

noun

mourn·​ing ˈmōr-niŋ 

ˈmȯr-

1

: the act of grieving

2

: an outward sign (as black clothes or a black arm band) of grief for a person's death

to wear mourning

3

: a period of time during which signs of grief are shown