DictionaryAI

cry

KRY/kɹaɪ/

Verbcries, crying, cried

Noun pluralcries

15 meanings of cry

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  1. 1
    weepverbintransitive
    To shed tears, especially from strong emotion, sometimes bringing oneself into a particular state by weeping.

    Don't cry. We can fix the vase.

    He was crying quietly in the back row during the funeral scene.

    UsageEveryday cry means tears; for a loud voice, shout or cry out is clearer. You cry about or over something.

    Similarweep, sob

    Oppositelaugh

  2. 2
    shout outverbtransitive
    To shout or call out loudly, as in alarm, pain or to declare something.

    'The verdict is in,' the clerk cried to the packed courtroom.

    Lookouts cry a warning the moment smoke appears on the ridge.

    UsageMostly in writing, often after a quotation: 'Watch out!' she cried. In speech, shout is more usual.

    Similarshout, call, yell, exclaim, scream

    Oppositewhisper, murmur

    Note

    The verb takes what is shouted as its object. That can be a single noun, as in Shakespeare's "cry shame against me" in Othello, or the words themselves, as when Bunyan's pilgrim in The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) runs on crying "Life, Life, Eternal Life."

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  3. 3
    nouncountable
    A loud shout or scream, or the words shouted.

    A cry of pain came from the next room.

    The climber gave a sharp cry as the rope slipped through his hands.

    UsageCommon phrases: a cry of pain, let out a cry, give a cry.

    Similarscream, shout, yell, shriek, howl

  4. 4
    urgent appealnouncountable
    A desperate or urgent request or appeal.

    Doctors described the patient's behavior as a cry for attention.

    The editorial was a cry for reform of the prison system.

    UsageUsually a cry for something: a cry for help, a cry for attention.

    Similarplea, appeal, call

  5. 5
    bout of tearsnouncountable
    An act or period of shedding tears; a bout of weeping.

    A good cry can release tension after a stressful week.

    He allowed himself a brief cry before facing the reporters.

    UsageUsually have a cry, often a good cry.

    Similarweep, sob

    Oppositelaugh

  6. 6
    verbcolloquialintransitive
    To grumble or moan about something, especially in a whiny, self-pitying way.

    Instead of crying about the new schedule, suggest a better one.

    Some players cry about every foul call instead of getting back on defense.

    UsageUsually cry about something, and dismissive: Stop crying about it. Cry me a river mocks such complaints.

    Similarcomplain, whine, moan, grumble, gripe

    Note

    A dismissive word, aimed at someone else's complaint more often than one's own. Calling a complaint crying likens the speaker to a child in tears, which is why it stings, and why quit crying and stop crying about it are put-downs rather than comfort.

  7. 7
    crowd's roarnouncountable
    A clamor or outcry, such as the uproar of a crowd.

    The cry of the crowd outside the stadium grew so loud that the players could barely hear each other.

    The plan to close the bridge raised a cry of protest across the town.

    UsageUse a cry of protest or a cry against something when describing collective opposition.

    Similaroutcry, clamor, uproar, protest

    Note

    A cry in this sense belongs to many voices at once, and it usually has a target. Alexander Chalmers's General Biographical Dictionary (1812) repeats an old legend that Maimonides left Corduba rather than join "the general cry against Averroes." Adjectives such as general and public mark it as the voice of a crowd or a whole community rather than of one person.

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Alexander Chalmers's General Biographical Dictionary was first published in 1812. openlibrary.org
    • Chalmers recounts Maimonides leaving Corduba rather than joining the outcry against Averroes, using the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
    • The account is appropriately presented as legend rather than established biography. jewishencyclopedia.com
  8. 8
    animal's callnouncountable
    The typical sound made by a particular species of animal.

    The loon's haunting cry echoed across the empty lake.

    Researchers can identify each species of gull by its distinctive cry.

    Similarcall

Practice

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Origin

Vulgar Latin *crītāre passed into Old French as crier, which gave the Middle English verb crien in the 13th century. *crītāre is generally traced to Classical Latin quirītāre, though a Proto-West Germanic source has also been proposed. The noun goes back to Middle English cry, from Old French cri. Already in the 13th century the verb had come to mean "to shed tears," and by the 16th century cry had mostly taken over this sense from weep.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

  • Vulgar Latin *crītāre became Old French crier, which was borrowed into Middle English as crien in the 13th century. en.wiktionary.org
  • *crītāre is generally derived from Classical Latin quirītāre, with a Proto-West Germanic source also proposed. en.wiktionary.org
  • The noun derives from Middle English cry, from Old French cri. en.wiktionary.org
  • The verb had acquired the sense 'to shed tears' in the 13th century. en.wiktionary.org
  • By the 16th century, cry had mostly replaced weep in the sense 'to shed tears'. en.wiktionary.org