A film, book, song, or story that is made to be very sad, so that the people watching or reading it cry. "Bring tissues — it's a real tearjerker." The interesting part is the attitude inside the word. A tearjerker is not simply a sad story; it is one that goes after your tears on purpose, and a little too openly — sad music, a dying dog, a mother saying goodbye at exactly the right moment. So the word usually carries a small wink. Sometimes it is friendly ("I love a good tearjerker on a rainy day"), and sometimes it is a light criticism, meaning the story did not really earn those tears, it just squeezed them out of you. Because of that, people rarely call a truly great, serious film a tearjerker — that would sound like you were talking it down a little. It fits romances, family dramas, and hospital stories best. It is casual, everyday English: fine with friends, fine in a review, a bit too chatty for a school essay. You may also see it spelled tear-jerker or as two words; all three are common.

催淚片、賺人熱淚的作品（電影／小說／歌）。台灣口語常說「超催淚」「哭片」，帶點「明知道它就是要弄哭你」的調侃味道。