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Definition of sigh verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

sigh

verb
 
/saɪ/
 
/saɪ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they sigh
 
/saɪ/
 
/saɪ/
he / she / it sighs
 
/saɪz/
 
/saɪz/
past simple sighed
 
/saɪd/
 
/saɪd/
past participle sighed
 
/saɪd/
 
/saɪd/
-ing form sighing
 
/ˈsaɪɪŋ/
 
/ˈsaɪɪŋ/
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  1. [intransitive] to take and then let out a long deep breath that can be heard, to show that you are disappointed, sad, tired, etc.
    • He sighed deeply at the thought.
    • sigh with something She sighed with relief that it was all over.
    Extra Examples
    • He sighed wearily as he looked at the pile of work.
    • She looked at her son and sighed happily.
    • She sighed heavily and sat down.
    • The girl watching him sighed dreamily.
    • He sighed in exasperation.
    Topics Feelingsc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • deeply
    • heavily
    • softly
    preposition
    • in
    • with
    See full entry
  2. [transitive] + speech to say something with a sigh
    • ‘Oh well, better luck next time,’ she sighed.
  3. [intransitive] (literary) (especially of the wind) to make a long sound like a sigh
    • the sighing of the wind through the trees
    • branches sighing in the wind
  4. Word OriginMiddle English (as a verb): probably a back-formation from sighte, past tense of siche, sike, from Old English sīcan.
See sigh in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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