cry

[ krahy ]
See synonyms for: crycriedcriescrying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),cried, cry·ing.
  1. to utter inarticulate sounds, especially of lamentation, grief, or suffering, usually with tears.

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

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

  2. to demand resolution or strongly indicate a particular disposition: The rise in crime cried out for greater police protection.

  3. to give forth vocal sounds or characteristic calls, as animals; yelp; bark.

  4. (of a hound or pack) to bay continuously and excitedly in following a scent.

  5. (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.

  1. to beg or plead for; implore: to cry mercy.

  2. 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.

  1. a fit of weeping: to have a good cry.

  2. the utterance or call of an animal.

  3. a political or party slogan.

  4. an oral proclamation or announcement.

  5. a call of wares for sale, services available, etc., as by a street vendor.

  6. public report.

  7. an opinion generally expressed.

  8. Fox Hunting.

    • a pack of hounds.

    • a continuous baying of a hound or a pack in following a scent.

Verb Phrases
  1. cry down, to disparage; belittle: Those people cry down everyone who differs from them.

  2. cry off, to break a promise, agreement, etc.: We made arrangements to purchase a house, but the owner cried off at the last minute.

  1. cry up, to praise; extol: to cry up one's profession.

Idioms about cry

  1. a far cry,

    • quite some distance; a long way.

    • only remotely related; very different: This treatment is a far cry from that which we received before.

  2. cry havoc. havoc (def. 4).

  1. cry one's eyes / heart out, to cry excessively or inconsolably: The little girl cried her eyes out when her cat died.

  2. cry over spilled / spilt milk. milk (def. 12).

  3. in full cry, in hot pursuit: The pack followed in full cry.

Origin of cry

1
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

synonym study For cry

3. 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.

Other words for cry

Other words from cry

  • coun·ter·cry, noun, plural coun·ter·cries.

Words Nearby cry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cry in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cry

cry

/ (kraɪ) /


verbcries, crying or cried
  1. (intr) to utter inarticulate sounds, esp when weeping; sob

  2. (intr) to shed tears; weep

  1. (intr usually foll by out) to scream or shout in pain, terror, etc

  2. (tr often foll by out) to utter or shout (words of appeal, exclamation, fear, etc)

  3. (intr often foll by out) (of animals, birds, etc) to utter loud characteristic sounds

  4. (tr) to hawk or sell by public announcement: to cry newspapers

  5. to announce (something) publicly or in the streets

  6. (intr foll by for) to clamour or beg

  7. Scot to call

  8. cry for the moon to desire the unattainable

  9. cry one's eyes out or cry one's heart out to weep bitterly

  10. cry quits or cry mercy to give up a task, fight, etc

nounplural cries
  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

  1. Scot a call

  2. archaic an oral announcement, esp one made by town criers

  3. a fit of weeping

  4. hunting the baying of a pack of hounds hunting their quarry by scent

  5. a pack of hounds

  6. a far cry

    • a long way

    • something very different

  7. in full cry (esp of a pack of hounds) in hot pursuit of a quarry

Origin of cry

1
C13: from Old French crier, from Latin quirītāre to call for help

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