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Synonyms

crier

American  
[krahy-er] / ˈkraɪ ər /

noun

  • criers
    plural
  1. a person who cries.

  2. a court or town official who makes public announcements.

  3. a hawker.


crier British  
/ ˈkraɪə /

noun

  1. a person or animal that cries

  2. (formerly) an official who made public announcements, esp in a town or court

  3. a person who shouts advertisements about the goods he is selling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

See Examples For:

Brenda Willison, who lives in Weeting, Norfolk, holds the titles for the loudest female town crier and for having the loudest female shout.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

“I’m not a big crier, but I just lost it,” Rowell said of the moment he learned of the gift, calling it a validation of his and his team’s work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026

She also told one poor CBB housemate who was getting on her nerves: "You'd make a great town crier!"

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025

He continued dance-walking down the long city block, the time-traveling Black town crier was waking up all those who would listen.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2025

The holding cell was cold, and I had to share it with this kid who kept crying and another who was picking on the crier.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

Town criers have a history stretching back centuries, acting as official messengers long before the arrival of newspapers, radio and the internet.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Enlisting high cheekboned town criers isn’t the worst idea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Fox News: It’s been said you and June Allyson were the town criers of MGM.

From Fox News ● Mar. 20, 2021

He had many criers on that damnable highway.

From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2018

For a person like Lelia, who grew up with hollerers and criers, mine is the worst response.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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