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Cry
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cry

  [krahy] verb, cried, cry⋅ing, noun, plural cries.
Use cry in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to utter inarticulate sounds, esp. of lamentation, grief, or suffering, usually with tears.
2. to weep; shed tears, with or without sound.
3. to call loudly; shout; yell (sometimes fol. by out).
4. to demand resolution or strongly indicate a particular disposition: The rise in crime cried out for greater police protection.
5. to give forth vocal sounds or characteristic calls, as animals; yelp; bark.
6. (of a hound or pack) to bay continuously and excitedly in following a scent.
7. (of tin) to make a noise, when bent, like the crumpling of paper.
–verb (used with object)
8. to utter or pronounce loudly; call out.
9. to announce publicly as for sale; advertise: to cry one's wares.
10. to beg or plead for; implore: to cry mercy.
11. to bring (oneself) to a specified state by weeping: The infant cried itself to sleep.
–noun
12. the act or sound of crying; any loud utterance or exclamation; a shout, scream, or wail.
13. clamor; outcry.
14. a fit of weeping: to have a good cry.
15. the utterance or call of an animal.
16. a political or party slogan.
17. battle cry.
18. an oral proclamation or announcement.
19. a call of wares for sale, services available, etc., as by a street vendor.
20. public report.
21. an opinion generally expressed.
22. an entreaty; appeal.
23. Fox Hunting.
a. a pack of hounds.
b. a continuous baying of a hound or a pack in following a scent.
—Verb phrases
24. cry down, to disparage; belittle: Those people cry down everyone who differs from them.
25. cry off, to break a promise, agreement, etc.: We made arrangements to purchase a house, but the owner cried off at the last minute.
26. cry up, to praise; extol: to cry up one's profession.
—Idioms
27. a far cry,
a. quite some distance; a long way.
b. only remotely related; very different: This treatment is a far cry from that which we received before.
28. cry havoc. havoc (def. 4).
29. cry one's eyes or heart out, to cry excessively or inconsolably: The little girl cried her eyes out when her cat died.
30. cry over spilled or spilt milk. milk (def. 10).
31. in full cry, in hot pursuit: The pack followed in full cry.
Origin:
1175–1225; (v.) ME crien < AF, OF crier < VL *crītāre for L quirītāre to cry out in protest, make a public cry; associated by folk etym. with Quirītēs Quirites; (n.) < AF, OF cri, n. deriv. of the v.

Synonyms:
1. wail, keen, moan. 2. sob, bawl, whimper. 3. yowl, bawl, clamor, vociferate, exclaim, ejaculate, scream. Cry, shout, bellow, roar refer to kinds of loud articulate or inarticulate sounds. Cry is the general word: to cry out. To shout is to raise the voice loudly in uttering words or other articulate sounds: He shouted to his companions. Bellow refers to the loud, deep cry of a bull, moose, etc., or, somewhat in deprecation, to human utterance that suggests such a sound: The speaker bellowed his answer. Roar refers to a deep, hoarse, rumbling or vibrant cry, often of tumultuous volume: The crowd roared approval.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cry
cry   (krī)   
v.   cried (krīd), cry·ing, cries (krīz)

v.   intr.
  1. To sob or shed tears because of grief, sorrow, or pain; weep.
  2. To call loudly; shout.
  3. To utter a characteristic sound or call. Used of an animal.
  4. To demand or require immediate action or remedy: grievances crying out for redress.
v.   tr.
  1. To utter loudly; call out.
  2. To proclaim or announce in public: crying one's wares in the marketplace.
  3. To bring into a particular condition by weeping: cry oneself to sleep.
  4. Archaic To beg for; implore: cry forgiveness.
n.   pl. cries (krīz)
  1. A loud utterance of an emotion, such as fear, anger, or despair.
  2. A loud exclamation; a shout or call.
  3. A fit of weeping: had a good long cry.
  4. An urgent entreaty or appeal.
  5. A public or general demand or complaint.
  6. A common view or general report.
  7. An advertising of wares by calling out: venders' cries at the fish market.
  8. A rallying call or signal: a cry to arms.
  9. A slogan, especially a political one.
  10. The characteristic call or utterance of an animal.
    1. The baying of hounds during the chase.
    2. A pack of hounds.
  12. Obsolete Clamor; outcry.
  13. Obsolete A public announcement; a proclamation.
Phrasal Verb(s):
cry downTo belittle or disparage.
cry offTo break or withdraw from a promise, agreement, or undertaking.
cry upTo praise highly; extol.

Idiom(s):
cry havocTo sound an alarm; warn.

Idiom(s):
cry (one's) eyes/heart outTo weep inconsolably for a long time.

Idiom(s):
cry on (someone's) shoulderTo tell one's problems to someone else in an attempt to gain sympathy or consolation.

Idiom(s):
cry over spilled milkTo regret in vain what cannot be undone or rectified.

Idiom(s):
cry wolfTo raise a false alarm.

Idiom(s):
for crying out loudUsed to express annoyance or astonishment: Let's get going, for crying out loud!

Idiom(s):
in full cryIn hot pursuit, as hounds hunting.

[Middle English crien, from Old French crier, from Vulgar Latin *critāre, from Latin quirītāre, to cry out, perhaps from Quirītēs, public officers to whom one would cry out in times of need.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to make inarticulate sounds of grief, unhappiness, or pain. Cry and weep both involve the shedding of tears; cry more strongly implies accompanying sound: "She cried without trying to suppress any of the noisier manifestations of grief and confusion" (J. D. Salinger). "I weep for what I'm like when I'm alone" (Theodore Roethke).
Wail refers primarily to sustained, inarticulate mournful sound: "The women . . . began to wail together; they mourned with shrill cries" (Joseph Conrad).
Keen suggests wailing and lamentation for the dead: "It is the wild Irish women keening over their dead" (George A. Lawrence).
Whimper refers to low, plaintive, broken or repressed cries: The condemned prisoner cowered and began to whimper for clemency.
Sob describes weeping or a mixture of broken speech and weeping marked by convulsive breathing or gasping: "sobbing and crying, and wringing her hands as if her heart would break" (Laurence Sterne).
Blubber refers to noisy shedding of tears accompanied by broken or inarticulate speech: "When he drew out what had been a fiddle, crushed to morsels in the greatcoat, he blubbered aloud" (Emily Brontë).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cry

Cry\ (kr[imac]), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Cried (kr[imac]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Crying.] [F. crier, cf. L. quiritare to raise a plaintive cry, scream, shriek, perh. fr. queri to complain; cf. Skr. cvas to pant, hiss, sigh. Cf. Quarrel a brawl, Querulous.]

1. To make a loud call or cry; to call or exclaim vehemently or earnestly; to shout; to vociferate; to proclaim; to pray; to implore.

And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice. -- Matt. xxvii. 46.

Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voice. --Shak.

Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry unto thee. -- Ps. xxviii. 2.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. --Is. xl. 3.

Some cried after him to return. --Bunyan.

2. To utter lamentations; to lament audibly; to express pain, grief, or distress, by weeping and sobbing; to shed tears; to bawl, as a child.

Ye shall cry for sorrow of heart. --Is. lxv. 14.

I could find it in my heart to disgrace my man's apparel and to cry like a woman. --Shak.

3. To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals.

The young ravens which cry. --Ps. cxlvii. 9.

In a cowslip's bell I lie There I couch when owls do cry. --Shak.

To cry on or upon, to call upon the name of; to beseech. "No longer on Saint Denis will we cry." --Shak.

To cry out. (a) To exclaim; to vociferate; to scream; to clamor. (b) To complain loudly; to lament.

To cry out against, to complain loudly of; to censure; to blame.

To cry out on or upon, to denounce; to censure. "Cries out upon abuses." --Shak.

To cry to, to call on in prayer; to implore.

To cry you mercy, to beg your pardon. "I cry you mercy, madam; was it you?" --Shak.

Cry

Cry\, v. t. 1. To utter loudly; to call out; to shout; to sound abroad; to declare publicly.

All, all, cry shame against ye, yet I 'll speak. --Shak.

The man . . . ran on,crying, Life! life! Eternal life! --Bunyan.

2. To cause to do something, or bring to some state, by crying or weeping; as, to cry one's self to sleep.

3. To make oral and public proclamation of; to declare publicly; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, ets.; as, to cry goods, etc.

Love is lost, and thus she cries him. --Crashaw.

4. Hence, to publish the banns of, as for marriage.

I should not be surprised if they were cried in church next Sabbath. --Judd.

To cry aim. See under Aim.

To cry down, to decry; to depreciate; to dispraise; to condemn.

Men of dissolute lives cry down religion, because they would not be under the restraints of it. --Tillotson.

To cry out, to proclaim; to shout. "Your gesture cries it out." --Shak.

To cry quits, to propose, or declare, the abandonment of a contest.

To cry up, to enhance the value or reputation of by public and noisy praise; to extol; to laud publicly or urgently.

Cry

Cry\ (kr?), n.; pl. Cries (kr?z). [F. cri, fr. crier to cry. See Cry, v. i. ]

1. A loud utterance; especially, the inarticulate sound produced by one of the lower animals; as, the cry of hounds; the cry of wolves. --Milton.

2. Outcry; clamor; tumult; popular demand.

Again that cry was found to have been as unreasonable as ever. --Macaulay.

3. Any expression of grief, distress, etc., accompanied with tears or sobs; a loud sound, uttered in lamentation.

There shall be a great cry throughout all the land. --Ex. xi. 6.

An infant crying in the night, An infant crying for the light; And with no language but a cry. --Tennyson.

4. Loud expression of triumph or wonder or of popular acclamation or favor. --Swift.

The cry went once on thee. --Shak.

5. Importunate supplication.

O, the most piteous cry of the poor souls. --Shak.

6. Public advertisement by outcry; proclamation, as by hawkers of their wares.

The street cries of London. --Mayhew.

7. Common report; fame.

The cry goes that you shall marry her. --Shak.

8. A word or phrase caught up by a party or faction and repeated for effect; as, the party cry of the Tories.

All now depends upon a good cry. --Beaconsfield.

9. A pack of hounds. --Milton.

A cry more tunable Was never hollaed to, nor cheered with horn. --Shak.

10. A pack or company of persons; -- in contempt.

Would not this . . . get me a fellowship in a cry of players? --Shak.

11. The crackling noise made by block tin when it is bent back and forth.

A far cry, a long distance; -- in allusion to the sending of criers or messengers through the territory of a Scottish clan with an announcement or summons.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : cry
Spanish: llorar,
German: weinen,
Japanese: 泣く
More Translations »

cry 
c.1225, from O.Fr. crier, from L. quiritare "to wail, shriek," var. of quirritare "to squeal like a pig," from *quis, echoic of squealing, despite ancient folk etymology that traces it to "call for the help of the Quirites," the Roman constabulary. The meaning was extended 13c. to weep, which it largely replaced by 16c. Most languages, like Eng., use the general word for "cry out, shout, wail" to also mean "weep, shed tears to express pain or grief." Romance and Slavic, however, use words for this whose ultimate meaning is "beat (the breast)," cf. Fr. pleurer, Sp. llorar, both from L. plorare "cry aloud," but probably originally plodere "beat, clap the hands." Also It. piangere (cognate with Fr. plaindre "lament, pity") from L. plangere, originally "beat," but especially of the breast, as a sign of grief. Crybaby is first recorded 1851, Amer.Eng. U.S. colloquial for crying out loud is 1924, probably another euphemism for for Christ's sake.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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