sigh

Verb

sigh (third-person singular simple present sighs, present participle sighing, simple past and past participle sighed)

1. (intransitive) To inhale a larger quantity of air than usual, and immediately expel it; to make a deep single audible respiration, especially as the result or involuntary expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like.
   • When she saw it wasn't damaged, she sighed with relief.
   • He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

   Synonyms:

   suspire, sithe

2. (intransitive) To lament; to grieve.
   • He sighed deeply in his spirit.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 8:12

   Synonyms:

   sithe, yearn, aggrieve, besorrow, condole, darken, engrieve, erme, gloom, grieve

3. (transitive) To utter sighs over; to lament or mourn over.
   • Ages to come, and men unborn, / Shall bless her name, and sigh her fate.1695, Matthew Prior, An ode presented to the king, on His Majesty's arrival in Holland, after the Queen's death
   • The lassie had grace given her to refuse, but with a woeful heart, and Heriotside rode off in black discontent, leaving poor Ailie to sigh her love. He came back the next day and the next, but aye he got the same answer.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide

   Synonyms:

   grieve, lament, sithe, afterthink, becry, begrieve, bemoan, bemourn, bewail, beweep

4. (intransitive) To make a sound like sighing.
   • The wind sighed in the trees.
   • And the coming wind did roar more loud, / And the sails did sigh like sedge.1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   sithe

5. (transitive) To exhale (the breath) in sighs.
   • She sighed a sigh that was nearly a groan.
   • sigh a note and sing a note

   Synonyms:

   sithe

6. (transitive) To express by sighs; to utter in or with sighs.
   • "I guess I have no choice," she sighed.
   • She sighed her frustrations.

   Synonyms:

   sithe

Noun

sigh (plural sighs)

1. A deep, prolonged audible inhale and exhale of breath; as when fatigued, frustrated, grieved, or relieved; the act of sighing.
   • To Pollyanna the air was all the more stifling after that cool breath of the out of doors; but she did not complain. She only drew a long quivering sigh.1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 7, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC
2. (figuratively) a manifestation of grief; a lament.
3. (Cockney, slang) A person who is bored.

Interjection

1. An expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like, often used in casual written contexts.
   • Sigh, I'm so bored at work today.