cry

[ krahy ]

verb (used without object)

, cried, cry·ing.

1. to utter inarticulate sounds, especially of lamentation, grief, or suffering, usually with tears.

   Synonyms: moan, keen, wail

2. to weep; shed tears, with or without sound.

   Synonyms: whimper, bawl, sob

3. to call loudly; shout; yell (sometimes followed by out ).

   Synonyms: scream, ejaculate, exclaim, vociferate, clamor, bawl, yowl

4. to demand resolution or strongly indicate a particular disposition:

   The rise in crime cried out for greater police protection.

5. to give forth vocal sounds or characteristic calls, as animals; yelp; bark.
6. (of a hound or pack) to bay continuously and excitedly in following a scent.
7. (of tin) to make a noise, when bent, like the crumpling of paper.

verb (used with object)

, cried, cry·ing.

1. to utter or pronounce loudly; call out.
2. to announce publicly as for sale; advertise:

   to cry one's wares.

3. to beg or plead for; implore:

   to cry mercy.

4. to bring (oneself ) to a specified state by weeping:

   The infant cried itself to sleep.

noun

, plural cries.

1. the act or sound of crying; any loud utterance or exclamation; a shout, scream, or wail.
2. clamor; outcry.
3. a fit of weeping:

   to have a good cry.

4. the utterance or call of an animal.
5. a political or party slogan.
6. battle cry.
7. an oral proclamation or announcement.
8. a call of wares for sale, services available, etc., as by a street vendor.
9. public report.
10. an opinion generally expressed.
11. an entreaty; appeal.
12. Fox Hunting.
    1. a pack of hounds.
    2. a continuous baying of a hound or a pack in following a scent.

verb phrase

1. to disparage; belittle:

   Those people cry down everyone who differs from them.

2. to praise; extol:

   to cry up one's profession.

3. to break a promise, agreement, etc.:

   We made arrangements to purchase a house, but the owner cried off at the last minute.

cry

/ kraɪ /

verb

1. intr to utter inarticulate sounds, esp when weeping; sob
2. intr to shed tears; weep
3. intrusually foll byout to scream or shout in pain, terror, etc
4. troften foll byout to utter or shout (words of appeal, exclamation, fear, etc)
5. introften foll byout (of animals, birds, etc) to utter loud characteristic sounds
6. tr to hawk or sell by public announcement

   to cry newspapers

7. to announce (something) publicly or in the streets
8. intrfoll byfor to clamour or beg
9. to call
10. cry for the moon
    cry for the moon to desire the unattainable
11. cry one's eyes out
    cry one's eyes outcry one's heart out to weep bitterly
12. cry quits
    cry quitscry mercy to give up a task, fight, etc

noun

1. the act or sound of crying; a shout, exclamation, scream, or wail
2. the characteristic utterance of an animal or bird

   the cry of gulls

3. a call
4. archaic.
   an oral announcement, esp one made by town criers
5. a fit of weeping
6. hunting the baying of a pack of hounds hunting their quarry by scent
7. a pack of hounds
8. a far cry
   a far cry
   1. a long way
   2. something very different
9. in full cry
   in full cry (esp of a pack of hounds) in hot pursuit of a quarry

Other Words From

• counter·cry noun plural countercries

Word History and Origins

Origin of cry¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb crien, from Anglo-French, Old French crier, from unattested Vulgar Latin crītāre for Latin quirītāre “to cry out in protest, make a public cry”; associated by folk etymology with Quirītēs Quirites; noun from the verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of cry¹

C13: from Old French crier, from Latin quirītāre to call for help

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. a far cry,
   1. quite some distance; a long way.
   2. only remotely related; very different:

      This treatment is a far cry from that which we received before.

2. cry one's eyes / heart out, to cry excessively or inconsolably:

   The little girl cried her eyes out when her cat died.

3. in full cry, in hot pursuit:

   The pack followed in full cry.

4. cry havoc. havoc ( def 4 ).
5. cry over spilled / spilt milk. milk ( def 12 ).

Synonym Study

Cry, shout, bellow, roar refer to kinds of loud articulate or inarticulate sounds. Cry is the general word: to cry out. To shout is to raise the voice loudly in uttering words or other articulate sounds: He shouted to his companions. Bellow refers to the loud, deep cry of a bull, moose, etc., or, somewhat in deprecation, to human utterance that suggests such a sound: The speaker bellowed his answer. Roar refers to a deep, hoarse, rumbling or vibrant cry, often of tumultuous volume: The crowd roared approval.

Example Sentences

She’s the closest thing on the train to a doctor, and following cries for help, she rushes to save the woman with a defibrillator.

From Singularity Hub 

It’s a far cry from previous platform rollouts like Facebook Watch and Snapchat Discover when big-name publisher partners were proudly included in the launch announcements.

From Digiday

Members should be well prepared to ask questions – a far cry from the days when Alaska Senator Ted Stevens infamously described the internet as “a series of tubes” in a net neutrality hearing nearly 15 years ago.

From Search Engine Land

San Diego’s water utility is preparing to absorb a five percent spike in rates this year despite cries from elected officials to freeze costs during a global pandemic.

From Voice of San Diego

They heard the crash and the cry as the chair went out from under her feet and she fell on the floor.

From Freakonomics

“He turned pale, trembled to a great degree, was much agitated, and began to cry,” she told the court.

From The Daily Beast

The girls send a cry for help…the situation of these girls is distressing.

From The Daily Beast

Both the Ramos sons squeezed their eyes and lowered their heads, doing their best not to cry.

From The Daily Beast

It has long been a battle cry in conservative circles that Christmas is under siege.

From The Daily Beast

Kendrick rapidly chants these last lines in repetition with Bilal and Anna Wise sing-shouting behind him, like a rallying cry.

From The Daily Beast

Do not the widow's tears run down the cheek, and her cry against him that causeth them to fall?

From Project Gutenberg

At Felipe's cry, the women waiting in the hall hurried in, wailing aloud as their first glance showed them all was over.

From Project Gutenberg

I could have sworn I heard a cry, and one of my men spoke in a tone that assured me my imagination had not been playing a trick.

From Project Gutenberg

A sob rose in her throat, and broke from her lips transformed into a trembling, sharp, glad cry.

From Project Gutenberg

Antirosa had decided it was better to let the children "have their cry out," and the boy had gone to school.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bark
• bellow
• call
• cheer
• exclaim
• holler
• howl
• roar
• scream
• shout
• shriek
• whoop
• yawp
• yell
• yelp

More About Cry

What is a basic definition fo cry?

Cry means to make sad noises along with tears, to yell loudly, or to make an animal’s noise. Cry has several other senses as a verb and a noun.

A person will cry when they are overcome with intense emotion, such as sadness, despair, or joy. Intense pain can also make a person start to cry. Crying can involve tears coming from the eyes or whimpering, sniffling, or other miserable noises or both. Children and babies usually cry more often than adults, but crying is a natural way of expressing an intense feeling.

• Real-life examples: Babies frequently cry to tell their parents there is a problem. Young children cry when they want something or something has upset them. People often cry at funerals. Parents might cry due to happiness at the birth of a new baby.
• Used in a sentence: He cried from joy when he saw that his daughter was safe.

This sense is also used as a noun to mean an act of crying.

• Used in a sentence: I had a long cry yesterday. 

Cry can also mean to shout or yell really loudly. This sense of cry is sometimes followed by the word out.

• Used in a sentence: I cried out to my sister to warn her of the oncoming car.

When animals cry, they are making a distinct noise. This sense of cry is used similarly to words like yelp, bark, screech, and howl.

• Used in a sentence: I heard wolves cry in the woods. 

In this sense, cry is also used as a noun to mean a particular noise that an animal makes.

• Used in a sentence: My dog gave a long, loud cry.

Where does cry come from?

The first records of cry come from around 1175. It ultimately comes from the Latin verb quirītāre, meaning “to call for help.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to cry?

• crier (noun)
• countercry (noun)

What are some synonyms for cry?

• weep
• sob
• wail
• yell
• shout
• scream
• bark

What are some words that share a root or word element with cry? 

• crybaby
• cry for
• cry wolf
• battle cry
• cry over spilled milk

What are some words that often get used in discussing cry?

• tears
• sniffle
• sadness
• misery
• depression
• joy

How is cry used in real life?

Cry is a very common word that most often means to make noises while having tears come out of your eyes.

I’m going to cry during these speeches, aren’t I?

— Alex Shibutani (@AlexShibutani) November 8, 2020

It’s a Christmas movie if it makes me cry at some point

— Danielle SepulVEEP is the greatest show (@ellesep) December 25, 2020

I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone but I can’t stop crying after watching the season 2 finale of the Mandalorian 😭

— Eugenia Cooney (@Eugenia_Cooney) December 19, 2020

 

 

Try using cry!

True or False?

People only cry when they are sad.