Link Centre Dictionary

cry

UK/kɹaɪ/ US/ˈkraɪ/ very common
verb (7) noun (5)

verb

1.

utter a sudden loud cry

  • “she cried with pain when the doctor inserted the needle”
  • “I yelled to her from the window but she couldn”
Synonyms
2.

shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain

  • “She cried bitterly when she heard the news of his death”
  • “The girl in the wheelchair wept with frustration when she could not get up the stairs”
Synonyms
Antonyms
3.

utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy

  • “I won!”
  • “;”
  • “she cried”
  • “I”
  • “the mother shouted when she saw her child looking lost”
Synonyms
4.

proclaim or announce in public

  • “before we had newspapers, a town cryer would cry the news”
  • “He cried his merchandise in the market square”
Synonyms
5.

demand immediate action

  • “This situation is crying for attention”
6.

utter a characteristic sound

  • “The cat was crying”
7.

bring into a particular state by crying

  • “The little boy cried himself to sleep”

noun

1.

a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition

  • “the speaker was interrupted by loud cries from the rear of the audience”
Synonyms
2.

a loud utterance of emotion (especially when inarticulate)

  • “a cry of rage”
  • “a yell of pain”
Synonyms
3.

a slogan used to rally support for a cause

  • “a cry to arms”
  • “our watchword will be”
  • “'”
Synonyms
4.

a fit of weeping

  • “had a good cry”
5.

the characteristic utterance of an animal

  • “animal cries filled the night”

Origin

The verb is from Middle English crien (13th century), from Old French crier, from Vulgar Latin *crītāre, generally thought to derive from Classical Latin quirītāre (Proto-West Germanic *krītan has also been suggested as a source). The noun corresponds to Middle English cry, crie, from Old French cri, a deverbal of crier. etymology note Middle English crien eventually displaced native Middle English galen (“to cry out”) (from Old English galan), Middle English greden (“to cry out”) (from Old English grǣdan), Middle English yermen (“to bellow, mourn, lament”) (from Old English ġierman), Middle English hooen, hoen (“to cry out”) (from Old Norse hóa), Middle English remen (“to cry, shout”) (from Old English hrīeman, compare Old English hrēam (“noise, outcry, lamentation, alarm”)), Middle English greten, graten (“to weep, cry, lament”) (from Old English grǣtan and Old Norse gráta). More at greet, regret. Already in the 13th century, the meaning was extended to include the sense "to shed tears" (natively weep); cry used in this sense had mostly replaced weep by the 16th century.

Phrases

  • all cry and no wool
  • all over but the crying
  • battle cry
  • cry aim
  • cry all the way to the bank
  • cry and seethe
  • cry beef
  • cry blue murder
  • cry buckets
  • cry carrots and turnips
  • cry for help
  • cry room

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Word family

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See also

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.