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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:

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

In Lisburn, events begin early with a D-Day proclamation read by a town crier from the Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum at 08:00.

From BBC Jun. 5, 2024

In the morning, she heard the town crier walking past the house, beating a loud ogene.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

Meanwhile, the union jack-suited royal obsessives and self-styled town criers have been demanding information for their travel plans to the birth.

From The Guardian Apr. 18, 2019

He had many criers on that damnable highway.

From Salon Jun. 26, 2018

He found the criers with clarion voices and told them to muster the unshorn Akhaians in full assembly.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

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