cry out
Britishverb
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to scream or shout aloud, esp in pain, terror, etc
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informal (often foll by for) to demand in an obvious manner
our inner cities are crying out for redevelopment
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informal an exclamation of anger or dismay
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.
A people can’t cry out for deliverance while refusing correction or ask God for justice while excusing wrongdoing in its own ranks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
“I didn’t want to be that girl who was always talking about her sister, but there was this very genuine desire to cry out for help, or acknowledge her,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2025
In one clip, as a soldier talks to a woman, presumably his wife, their children cry out, “We love and miss you.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
Doesn’t such a radical outcome cry out for an explanation?
From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2024
Suddenly, a shiver of happiness and excitement ran down through Omakayas so strongly she feared she might cry out and wake everyone.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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.
