crier
Americannoun
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a person who cries.
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a court or town official who makes public announcements.
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a hawker.
noun
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a person or animal that cries
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(formerly) an official who made public announcements, esp in a town or court
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a person who shouts advertisements about the goods he is selling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of crier
1250–1300; Middle English criere < Old French. See cry, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The ignoble battle ends when a neighbor, Mrs. Prothero, shouts that her house is on fire, “announcing ruin like a town crier in Pompeii.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
“I’m a weird crier with movies. Like I won’t cry after I won the Super Bowl. I didn't cry when my kids were born,” he said.
From Salon • Apr. 7, 2025
If it’s any consolation, you’re not an ugly crier.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2024
Southampton’s town crier, Alan Spencer, will begin the city's commemorations at 08:00 on 6 June with a special proclamation on the Civic Centre steps.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2024
The crier unslung and pegged the shining harp and, taking Demodokos’s hand, led him along with all the rest—Phaiakian peers, gay amateurs of the great games.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.