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Glite Dictionary
to shed a tear

to shed a tear

14 3.5
Cry a little, often with one tear
  • idiom
  • /ʃɛd ə tɪr/
translation icon : derramar una lágrima
  • When he spoke about his childhood memories, it was hard not to shed a tear.
  • never shed a tear
  • shed a tear or two

Her own mother hasn't shed a tear yet.

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Examples

  • I couldn't help shedding a tear for the tremendous loss of life during this war.

    Blog text (11)

  • I remember once he even shed a tear because there was "so much love in the room."

    Blog text (24)

  • Hard men, proud men, not too proud to cry, nor shed a tear.

    Convoy (1978)

  • I never saw him shed a tear before.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Thanks for this article; I shed a tear when reading what you said to Kate.

    Blog text (28)

  • During that farewell address, Nixon spoke of his mother, and he even shed a tear or two.

    Blog text (32)

  • And during the last rally, here where it all started, President Obama shed a tear.

    Blog text (22)

  • Only one time was I ever present when one of us shed a tear at the funeral of a spouse.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Great-Uncle Alfred even shed a tear.

    The Invitation (2022)

  • President Obama shed a tear at his final rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday.

    Blog text (22)

Synonyms

to cry
vsto shed a tear
∞ 1.0

To let tears fall because you feel sad or hurt

is more restrained and shows sadness as a single quiet sign
to weep
vsto shed a tear
208 1.1

To cry and let tears fall because you feel sad or have strong feelings

is less openly emotional and shows sadness in a quiet way

Antonyms

to laugh
∞ 1.0

To make sounds and move your face or body because something is funny

to smile
∞ 1.0

To turn the corners of your mouth up to show happiness or friendliness

How Sad

to sob
15 1.0
to cry
∞ 1.0
to shed a tear
14 3.5

Surface Forms

shed a tear infinitive
shed a tear past
shed a tear past participle
shedding a tear present participle
sheds a tear third person singular

Morphology

shed + a + tear

The meaning 'to cry' is directly derivable from combining 'shed' (to let fall or allow to spill) with 'tear' (a drop from the eye): the phrase literally means to let a tear fall. This compositional pattern is straightforward and similar across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the idiom.

Etymology

Shed a tear may come from the image of things that shed, like trees dropping leaves or animals losing fur, which means 'to let fall'. So to shed a tear is to let a small tear fall, and that is why the phrase means 'to cry', often quietly or only a little.