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

The deadly incident in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Jet Set nightclub sent shockwaves around the country, with three days of mourning declared in the wake of the disaster. —Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025

After the election, Ray spent two days in political mourning. —Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2025

The anthrax attacks left a deep mark on the American psyche, hitting at a time when the nation was already in mourning. —Peter White, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2025

The fatalities were the first in Kyiv in more than two months, and on Sunday, the Ukrainian flag atop the 335-foot-tall Motherland Monument was lowered to half-staff as a symbol of mourning. —arkansasonline.com, 24 Mar. 2025

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