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

Guzmán declared three days of mourning starting Sunday. —Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026

The mourning and goodbye to my character happened when season five wrapped. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2026

Queen Mary wore another dark blue outfit to the confirmation of her twin children on Saturday, dressing to respect her father's recent death but skipping the traditional black dress associated with mourning. —Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026

At the packed opening, a huge screen showed Abramović’s video work, Tito’s Funeral (2025), broadcasting women beating their chests in a near trance-like state, drawing on ritualised forms of communal mourning. —George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 20 Apr. 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