I. ˈkrī verb
( cried ; cried ; crying ; cries )
Etymology: Middle English crien, from Old French crier, from Latin quiritare to cry out for help (from a citizen), to scream, shriek, from Quirit-, Quiris, Roman citizen — more at quiritarian
intransitive verb
1. : to call loudly : call out (as from pain, anger, or in asking for help or mercy) : shout
2. : to express grief, pain, or distress by sobbing and weeping : wail , weep , lament
she could not stop crying and the sobbing had a strangled sound — Carson McCullers
3.
a. of an animal : to utter a characteristic sound or call
the blown spume, and the sea gulls crying — John Masefield
b. of a hound : to yelp in the chase : give tongue
4. of things : to require or suggest strongly a given disposition or remedy
the occasion crying for a new man — Francis Hackett
— often used with out
a hundred things which cry out for planning — Roger Burlingame
transitive verb
1. : to ask for earnestly or excitedly : beg , beseech — now used chiefly in the phrase cry quarter
2. : to utter loudly : call out : shout
I heard a voice cry “Murder” — Shakespeare
: declare publicly : proclaim
voice … crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord — Mk 1:3 (Authorized Version)
— often used with out
3.
a. : to make public proclamation of or about : advertise , publicize
a popular TV performer to cry their wares — Atlantic
b. dialect : to publish the banns of marriage of
be cried in the kirk on Sunday — D.M.Moir
4.
a. Scotland : summon
b. obsolete : demand : call for
5. obsolete : praise , extol
Synonyms: see exclaim
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- cry halves
- cry harrow
- cry havoc
- cry one's eyes out
- cry over spilled milk
- cry quits
- cry wolf
II. noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French cri, from crier, v.
1.
a. : the utterance of the emotion of affliction or distress especially when inarticulate
the cry of the children — Elizabeth B. Browning
b. obsolete : outcry , clamor
confused cry — Edmund Spenser
2. : a loud vehement utterance of a sound expressing strong or sudden emotion
cries of rage and pain
3.
a. obsolete : a proclamation, summons, or announcement made publicly and usually orally
b. cries plural , Scotland : banns of marriage
4. : entreaty , appeal
deaf to their cries
5. : a loud shout (as expressing excitement or urgency)
there was a cry of “man overboard”
6.
a. : a word or phrase used as a watchword, a battle cry, or a slogan repeated by a faction or party
“death to the invader” was the cry
b. : a vendor's habitual words used in announcing his wares
7.
a. : common report : rumor
the cry goes that you shall marry her — Shakespeare
b. : a general opinion or belief : prevailing fashion
to be in the tradition is now the cry — F.J.Mather
8. : the utterance of the general opinion, feeling, or desire : the public voice raised in anger, protest, or approval
repeated droughts brought a cry for water
9. : an act of shedding tears : a fit of weeping
a good cry made her feel better
10.
a. : an inarticulate vocal sound characteristic of an animal
a hawk's cry
b. : the yelping of hounds in the chase
c. : a pack of hounds
11. : a noise resembling the crying of a man or animal
the cry in an overloaded loudspeaker
a brace block's creaking cry — John Masefield
specifically : the characteristic noise made by block tin and certain other metals under bending
Synonyms: see fashion
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- a far cry
- in full cry
- out of all cry