INDEX:
1. to cry
2. to start to cry
3. almost crying
4. to make someone cry
5. to stop crying
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ LAUGH
to say something loudly : ↑ SHOUT
see also
↑ SAD
↑ UPSET
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1. to cry
▷ cry /kraɪ/ [intransitive verb]
if you cry, tears come from your eyes, for example because you are sad or upset, or because you have hurt yourself :
▪ I could hear the baby crying in the next room.
▪ Kim’s eyes were red and she looked as though she’d been crying.
▪ Don’t cry, I didn’t mean to upset you.
cry about
▪ Jenny won’t tell me what she’s crying about.
make somebody cry
▪ The film was so sad, it made me cry.
cry and cry
cry for a long time
▪ I sat alone in my room and cried and cried.
cry your eyes out
cry a lot because you are very upset
▪ The poor kid’s so miserable, he’s upstairs crying his eyes out.
cry with happiness/joy/relief etc
▪ She cried with joy when she heard that the children were safe.
cry yourself to sleep
cry until you fall asleep
▪ At night I’d cry myself to sleep, thinking about you.
cry [singular noun]
▪ You’ll feel better when you’ve had a good cry.
▷ weep /wiːp/ [intransitive verb] especially written
to cry quietly and for a long time because you are very sad or you feel a strong emotion :
▪ She sat beside her dying father and wept.
weep openly
without trying to stop or hide it
▪ Thousands of French citizens, many weeping openly, bade a silent farewell to Mitterand.
weep with emotion/grief/joy etc
▪ I remember weeping with pride when my first son was born.
weep bitterly
cry strongly
▪ His mother wept bitterly and his father sat grim-faced.
▷ sob /sɒbǁsɑːb/ [intransitive verb]
if you sob, you cry noisily and your body shakes, because you are very sad or because someone has upset you :
▪ The sound of her sobbing kept them awake all night.
▪ ‘Please don’t leave me,’ he sobbed.
▪ The child covered her face with her hands and started to sob uncontrollably.
▷ bawl /bɔːl/ [intransitive verb]
to cry loudly - use this especially about young children or people you do not have any sympathy for :
▪ ‘Stop, bawling,’ Dad said crossly, ‘and come over here.’
▪ The baby was sitting in his high chair, red in the face and bawling.
▷ snivel/sniffle /ˈsnɪv ə l, ˈsnɪf ə l/ [intransitive verb]
to cry in a weak, complaining way and at the same time breathe in air noisily through your nose :
▪ "What are you snivelling about, Jake?'
▪ She kept sniffling into her handkerchief and saying how unfair everything was.
▷ whimper /ˈwɪmpəʳ/ [intransitive verb]
to make a quiet, continuous, unhappy sound like an animal in pain, or to say something with this sound in your voice :
▪ ‘I’m sorry,’ she whimpered, but Richard wasn’t listening.
whimper with
▪ Pat whimpered with the pain of the bullet wound in his shoulder.
whimper [countable noun]
▪ The boy’s crying died down to a whimper.
▷ be in tears /biː ɪn ˈtɪəʳz/ [verb phrase]
crying because someone has upset you, or because something is very sad :
▪ Everyone started to laugh and Frank ran out of the room in tears.
▪ Most of us were in tears by the time he’d finished his story.
▷ your eyes water /jɔːr ˈaɪz ˌwɔːtəʳ/
if your eyes water, you have tears in your eyes, usually because of something such as wind or smoke going into them :
▪ Jo’s eyes were watering from the smoke that filled the room.
make your eyes water
▪ An icy wind blew into my face, making my eyes water.
▷ tears /tɪəʳz/ [plural noun]
drops of water that come from your eyes when you are crying - this is often used to represent the idea of crying :
▪ Grandpa wiped the tears from his eyes.
have tears in your eyes/with tears in your eyes
be nearly crying
▪ Yusuf had tears in his eyes, and I knew he was thinking of home.
▪ She turned to me with tears in her eyes and begged me to help her.
tears roll/run down somebody’s cheeks
someone cries a lot
▪ He stood silently, tears rolling down his cheeks, while the music played.
▪ Mum showed us the letter with tears running down her cheeks.
be close to tears
almost crying
▪ Howell was close to tears as he told the court what had happened.
▪
2. to start to cry
▷ start crying/start to cry /ˌstɑːʳt ˈkraɪ-ɪŋ, ˌstɑːʳt tə ˈkraɪ/ [verb phrase]
▪ Jim turned away from me and started to cry.
▪ ‘I want Daddy to come home,’ Anna said, starting to cry.
▪ Just at that moment, the baby started crying.
▷ burst into tears /ˌbɜːʳst ɪntə ˈtɪəʳz/ [verb phrase]
to suddenly start to cry because you are upset about something :
▪ Laura burst into tears and ran out of the room.
▷ break down /ˌbreɪk ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to suddenly start to cry a lot, after trying not to cry :
▪ I broke down when he’d gone, knowing that I might never see him again.
break down and cry
▪ As the funeral service began, Frances broke down and cried.
break down in tears
▪ All the worry and anxiety had been too much for her, and she suddenly broke down in tears.
▷ turn on the waterworks /ˌtɜːʳn ɒn ðə ˈwɔːtəʳwɜːʳks/ [verb phrase] British informal
to deliberately start to cry in order to get someone’s sympathy or persuade them to do something :
▪ She was one of those people who could turn on the waterworks in order to get what they want.
3. almost crying
▷ be close to tears/be on the verge of tears /biː ˌkləʊs tə ˈtɪəʳz, biː ɒn ðə ˌvɜːʳdʒ əv ˈtɪəʳz/ [verb phrase]
▪ The lesson was going very badly and the student teacher was close to tears.
▪ Fiona was on the verge of tears as the train pulled out of the station.
▷ have a lump in your throat /hæv ə ˈlʌmp ɪn jɔːʳ ˌθrəʊt/ [verb phrase not in progressive]
to have a tight feeling in your throat and feel that you might start crying :
▪ I had a lump in my throat watching Rick go up to get his prize.
bring a lump to somebody’s throat
▪ The sight of the soft green hills of her homeland brought a lump to her throat.
▷ fight back tears /ˌfaɪt bæk ˈtɪəʳz/ [verb phrase]
to try very hard not to cry even though you are almost crying :
▪ Bill fought back his tears and tried to comfort Sarah’s mother.
▪ I quickly left the room, fighting back tears of rage and frustration.
4. to make someone cry
▷ make somebody cry /ˌmeɪk somebody ˈkraɪ/ [verb phrase]
▪ David often teases his little sister and makes her cry.
▪ She was so unhappy that the slightest thing made her cry.
▷ reduce somebody to tears /rɪˌdjuːs somebody tə ˈtɪəʳzǁ-ˌduːs-/ [verb phrase]
to make someone cry by behaving unkindly or by making them feel sad :
▪ He shouted at Louise and in the end reduced her to tears.
▪ Sam was almost reduced to tears by the sight of his mother in a hospital bed.
▷ bring tears to somebody’s eyes/bring a lump to somebody’s throat /brɪŋ ˌtɪəʳz tə somebodyˈs ˈaɪz, brɪŋ ə ˌlʌmp tə somebodyˈs ˈθrəʊt/ [verb phrase]
to make someone start to cry, or nearly start to cry :
▪ Just the thought of saying goodbye to Craig brought tears to her eyes.
▪ Outside the sharpness of the cold made him cough and brought tears to his eyes.
▪ This movie is guaranteed to bring a lump to your throat.
5. to stop crying
▷ stop crying /ˌstɒp ˈkraɪ-ɪŋǁˌstɑːp-/:
▪ The little girl, who was very thin with a pale face, couldn’t stop crying.
▪ ‘Now stop crying,’ Marilla said, ‘and tell me what’s the matter.’
▷ dry your eyes/tears /ˌdraɪ jɔːr ˈaɪz, ˈtɪəʳz/ especially written
to stop crying, especially because someone has done or said something to make you feel happier :
▪ Harry didn’t mean to upset you. Now dry your eyes and come back downstairs.
▪ At the thought of an ice-cream, Zoe dried her tears and began to smile.
▷ wipe the tears from your eyes/wipe your tears /waɪp ðə ˌtɪəʳz frəm jɔːr ˈaɪz, ˌwaɪp jɔːʳ ˈtɪəʳz/ [verb phrase]
to stop crying and use your hand or something else to dry your face - used especially in literature :
▪ ‘Do you really mean that?’ Jane said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
▪ ‘Wipe your tears, dear,’ Mrs Bristow said. ‘It’s not as bad as all that.’
▷ don’t cry /ˌdəʊnt ˈkraɪ/ spoken
say this when someone is crying, especially when you want to comfort them :
▪ Please don’t cry! You’ll make me want to cry as well.
▪ It’s alright, he won’t hurt you -- don’t cry.