cry

American  

[krahy] / kraɪ /

verb (used without object)

• cries,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cried,
  past participle,  past
• crying
  present participle

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 byout ).

   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.

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verb (used with object)

• cries,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cried,
  past participle,  past
• crying
  present participle

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

• cries
  plural

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. cry off to break a promise, agreement, etc..

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

2. cry up to praise; extol.

   to cry up one's profession.

3. cry down to disparage; belittle.

   Those people cry down everyone who differs from them.

idioms

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 havoc. havoc.

3. in full cry, in hot pursuit.

   The pack followed in full cry.

4. cry over spilled / spilt milk. milk.

5. 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.

cry British  

/ kraɪ /

verb

1. (intr) to utter inarticulate sounds, esp when weeping; sob

2. (intr) to shed tears; weep

3. to scream or shout in pain, terror, etc

4. to utter or shout (words of appeal, exclamation, fear, etc)

5. (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. to clamour or beg

9. to call

10. to desire the unattainable

11. to weep bitterly

12. to give up a task, fight, etc

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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. 1. a long way

   2. something very different

9. (esp of a pack of hounds) in hot pursuit of a quarry

Usage

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.

Synonym Usage

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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

• countercry
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cries
  plural

Participles

• crying
  present
• cried
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cry
  simple
• cries
  simple
• have cried
  perfect
• has cried
  perfect
• am crying
  progressive
• are crying
  progressive
• is crying
  progressive
• have been crying
  perfect progressive
• has been crying
  perfect progressive

Past

• cried
  simple
• had cried
  perfect
• was crying
  progressive
• were crying
  progressive
• had been crying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cry
  simple
• will have cried
  perfect
• will be crying
  progressive
• will have been crying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cry

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cry cries cried crying

I thought I would cry when I saw the cathedral.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

After so long on the road, driving past despair dotted along the road’s shoulders, Day brushes off a cry for help with a joke.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

Proverbs 21:13 states, “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Largo's mother told AFP news agency that a local resident had heard her daughter cry out for help from beneath the rubble.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

From the way her voice sounded, Jonah suspected that Daniella was about to cry.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

When the on-duty officers heard the desperate cries for help, why didn’t they jump up and sprint to Alcaraz’s aid?

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

It takes five hours, but finally synchronised cries of excitement come from the driver's seat and the back of the pick-up truck.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Early plays Maddie’s lowest moments with raw sincerity and expressions of utter helplessness — visible cries for help, acted out with total concern and love for the feminine.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Seeing all this, a woman kneels and cries out between sobs.

From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026

Nansi cries from the other side of the room.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

It’s been a good retirement, since Fed formally hung it up in September 2022, at that Laver Cup finale where he and Rafa Nadal cried and pretty much everybody else did, too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

She cried all night at the difficult decision, and Priscilla Presley later told her that Elvis sang the song to her during their divorce.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

I went to Susie’s house and cried at her dining room table.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Pant's mother, Deepa, cried as she appealed to let her son return.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

I made the spirit rap on the chair, and one of the ladies cried out, “I feel the spirit tapping me on the shoulder.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

She started crying over a dinner of chicken and dumplings she made for her family while talking about the prospect of leaving their longtime home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

“I’m still in the house. It’s my house,” Keller said, crying.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

"He was broken and he was just crying," she said, struggling to hold back her own tears, recalling their first phone call after his arrest.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

As the procession began, Total Eclipse of the Heart could be heard playing on the busy street, as crying fans broke into applause.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

A few years ago, he’d planted heart-eaters all along the south fence of his garden, and had nearly killed the poor, sensitive crying kits.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• bellow
• call
• cheer
• clamor
• exclamation
• holler
• howl
• outcry
• roar
• scream
• shout
• shriek
• uproar
• yawp
• yell
• yelp