mourn

verb

ˈmȯrn 

mourned; mourning; mourns

intransitive verb

1

: to feel or express grief or sorrow

When he dies, people throughout the world will mourn.

—often used with for

thousands mourned for him

2

: to show the customary signs of grief for a death

especially : to wear mourning

mourned for thirty days in black clothes

3

: to murmur mournfully

—used especially of doves

transitive verb

1

: to feel or express grief or sorrow for

mourned the death of his son

mourning the loss of their youth

2

: to utter mournfully

… let the whirlwind mourn its requiem!

—W. S. Gilbert

mourner noun

mourningly

ˈmȯr-niŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of mourn

• grieve

Examples of mourn in a Sentence

She is still mourning her husband, who died last year.

Thousands of people mourned his death.

She was mourned by everyone who knew her.

She mourned the loss of her youth.

He still mourns the fact that he never went to college.

Recent Examples on the Web

In addition to feeling cheated out of an occasion to make more music with their old friend, Harrison also mourned the fact that Lennon never got the chance to reclaim his Beatle memories the way the others eventually did. —Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025

Lending support As the world grappled with the loss and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, and Dench mourned the loss of her husband, Hinton was there to lend his support. —Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 27 Nov. 2025

Meanwhile, Israel mourned the latest hostage to be returned by the Palestinian militants, Dror Or. —Arkansas Online, 27 Nov. 2025

One of the dead was identified as fireman Ho Wai-ho, 37, who was mourned by the Director of Fire Services, Andy Yeung. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English murnan; akin to Old High German mornēn to mourn, Greek mermēra care — more at memory

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for mourn

• borne
• bourn
• bourne
• corn
• morn
• porn
• scorn
• shorn
• sworn
• thorn
• torn
• warn

Kids Definition

mourn

verb

ˈmō(ə)rn 

ˈmȯ(ə)rn

1

: to feel or show grief or sorrow especially over someone's death

2

: to display the customary signs of grief for a death especially by wearing mourning

mourner noun