cry
[verb]
Synonyms:
- weep, blubber, shed tears, snivel, sob
- shout, bawl, bellow, call out, exclaim, howl, roar, scream, shriek, yell
[noun]
Synonyms:
- weeping, blubbering, snivelling, sob, sobbing, weep
- shout, bellow, call, exclamation, howl, roar, scream, screech, shriek, yell
- appeal, plea

---

Related Idioms: cry one's eyes (or heart) out, pipe one's eye, shed tears
Related Words: bleat, sniff, snivel, whimper, whine, break down, choke up, groan, moan, sigh, bemoan, bewail, keen, lament, mourn, sorrow, bawl, howl, squall, yowl, slogan, screech, squawk, squeak, caw

---

English Thesaurus: cry, cry your eyes out, be in tears, be close to tears, weep, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

ˈCry, the Beˌloved ˌCountry
a book by Alan Paton about a black minister (=Christian priest) and his family in South Africa in the 1940s. It shows the lack of equality between black and white people, but encourages them not to hate each other.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

I. cry¹ S2 W2 /kraɪ/ verb (past tense and past participle cried, present participle crying, third person singular cries)
[Word Family: noun: cry, crying, outcry; verb: cry; adjective: crying]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: crier, from Latin quiritare 'to shout for help (from a citizen), scream', from Quiris 'Roman citizen']

1. PRODUCE TEARS [intransitive and transitive] to produce tears from your eyes, usually because you are unhappy or hurt:
Don’t cry, Laura. It’ll be OK.
Upstairs, a baby began to cry.
Jamie looked like he’d been crying.
I just couldn’t stop crying.
That film always makes me cry.
cry over/about
I am too old to be crying over some young guy.
cry with/in
She felt like crying with frustration.
cry for
She could hear him crying for his mother.
cry your eyes/heart out (=be extremely sad and cry a lot)
Oliver, alone, began to cry bitterly (=cry a lot).
cry yourself to sleep (=cry until you fall asleep)

2. SAY LOUDLY [transitive] written to shout or say something loudly Synonym : cry out:
‘Stop!’ she cried.
It was painful, and made me cry aloud.
cry to
‘Goodbye then!’ he cried to her.
cry for
I could hear voices crying for help.

3. cry over spilt milk to waste time feeling sorry about an earlier mistake or problem that cannot be changed:
It’s no use crying over spilt milk.

4. for crying out loud spoken used when you feel annoyed or impatient with someone:
For crying out loud, stop nagging!

5. cry foul to protest because you think something is wrong or not fair:
When the ads appeared, it was the Democrats’ turn to cry foul.

6. ANIMALS/BIRDS [intransitive] if animals or birds cry, they make a loud sound:
I could hear gulls crying and the soft whisper of the sea.

7. cry wolf to ask for help when you do not need it, so that people do not believe you when you really need help

8. cry into your beer informal to feel too much pity for yourself, especially because you think you have been treated unfairly
⇒ not know whether to laugh or cry at laugh¹(3), ⇒ cry for the moon at moon¹(4), ⇒ a shoulder to cry on at shoulder¹(5)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. cry² W3 noun (plural cries)
[Word Family: noun: cry, crying, outcry; verb: cry; adjective: crying]

1. SOUND EXPRESSING EMOTION [countable] a loud sound expressing a strong emotion such as pain, fear, or pleasure:
a baby’s cry
cry of pain/alarm/delight etc
Alice let out a cry of alarm.
let out/give a cry
The stone hit him on the forehead and he gave a sharp cry.

2. SHOUT [countable] a shouted word or phrase
cry of
At last, there was a cry of ‘Silence!’, and everyone looked towards the door.
cry for
Fortunately, a passerby heard his cries for help.

3. TEARS [singular] especially British English a period of time during which tears come out of your eyes, usually because you are unhappy:
It’s good to have a cry sometimes.
I felt much better after I’d had a good cry (=cried for a long time).

4. cry for help something someone says or does that shows that they are very unhappy and need help:
I think taking the pills was a cry for help.

5. PHRASE [countable] a phrase that is used to unite people in support of a particular action or idea Synonym : slogan:
‘Land and Liberty’ was the rallying cry of revolutionary Mexico. ⇒ battle cry(1), war cry

6. ANIMAL/BIRD [countable] a sound made by a particular animal Synonym : call:
the cries of seagulls overhead
⇒ be a far cry from something at far²(5), ⇒ in full cry at full¹(22), ⇒ hue and cry

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

cry
noun
I. shout/loud noise
ADJ. great, loud | little, low, small | choked/choking, muffled, stifled, strangled | piercing, shrill | hoarse the hoarse cry of a crow
agonized, anguished, bitter, despairing, desperate, plaintive, terrible | startled | involuntary | battle, rallying, war, warning | animal, bird
VERB + CRY give, let out, raise, utter She gave an agonized cry as they lifted the fallen branch from her leg. He was too weak to raise even the smallest of cries.
hear
CRY + VERB go up A cry went up when it was discovered their man had escaped.
escape An involuntary cry escaped her as he entered the room.
PREP. with a ~ He fell to the ground with a cry.
~ for (figurative) Her suicide attempt was really a desperate cry for help.
~ of a cry of despair/delight
 ⇒ Note at SOUND

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cry
II. act of crying
ADJ. good | little
VERB + CRY have You'll feel better when you've had a good cry.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cry
verb
I. produce tears
ADV. a lot | a little | almost, nearly | never, rarely | bitterly He put his head on his arms and cried bitterly.
loudly | quietly, silently, softly | uncontrollably | alone
VERB + CRY begin to, start to | make sb | leave sb to children who are left to cry alone
PREP. about What are you crying about?
for a child crying for his mother
over I wasn't going to waste time crying over him!
with Anna was almost crying with frustration.
PHRASES cry like a baby Finally he broke down and cried like a baby.
cry your eyes out, cry yourself to sleep, feel like crying I felt like crying when I found out what had happened.
a shoulder to cry on (figurative) He was a fatherly shoulder to cry on when things went wrong.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cry
II. shout
ADV. aloud, out | suddenly | angrily, indignantly ‘Never!’ he cried angrily.
despairingly, desperately | excitedly | passionately, wildly
VERB + CRY want to She wanted to cry out to him not to be so stupid.
hear sb I heard her cry out in her sleep.
PREP. in ‘What do you mean?’ she cried in agitation. ‘Who's there?’ she cried in a shrill voice.
PHRASES cry for help She cried for help as the fire spread.
cry out in anguish/fear/pain

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cry

start/begin to cry
She suddenly started to cry.
make somebody cry
The end of the book was so sad that it made me cry.
stop crying
Eventually, he stopped crying and told me what happened.
feel like crying
I feel like crying every time I think about that day.
cry your eyes/heart out (=be extremely sad and cry a lot)
Lucy read the letter and cried her eyes out.
cry like a baby (=cry a lot and without control)
I cried like a baby when I heard the news.
cry yourself to sleep (=cry until you fall asleep)
That night he cried himself to sleep.
cry loudly
She fell on her bed, crying loudly.
cry quietly/softly
People sat crying softly among the wreckage.
cry silently
When I looked at Jane, I saw that she was crying silently.
cry bitterly (=because you feel angry or hurt)
I no longer felt brave or strong, and I began to cry bitterly.
cry uncontrollably (=without being able to stop)
They were crying uncontrollably at the sight of his grave.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cry
verb
1.
BAD: The children got very excited and began to cry.
GOOD: The children got very excited and began to scream.

Usage Note:
cry = shout something: ' "Help! Help!" she cried.'
cry out = make a sudden loud noise when you are frightened, shocked, hurt, etc: 'When they tried to move him, he cried out in pain.'
scream = make a loud, high, continuous noise, especially when you are very frightened, very excited or in great pain: 'One of the firemen thought he heard someone screaming inside the building.' 'The fans didn't stop screaming until the group had left the stage.'

---

2.
BAD: Even when she is angry, she never cries.
GOOD: Even when she is angry, she never shouts.

Usage Note:
shout = speak in a very loud voice, especially because you want someone to hear you or because you are angry: 'There's no need to shout. I'm not deaf, you know.' 'The demonstrators marched through the streets shouting:No more war! No more war!'

---

3.
DUBIOUS: When he reached the point in his story when his friends were arrested and tortured, he began to cry.
GOOD: When he reached the point in his story when his friends were arrested and tortured, he began to weep.

Usage Note:
cry = the opposite of laugh : 'As the child was running towards me, she fell over and began to cry.' 'Babies always cry when they're hungry.'
weep = cry quietly, usually because of great sadness. This word is mainly used in literary styles: 'He knelt down by his son's small grave and wept.'

---

4.
BAD: I didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
GOOD: I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Usage Note:
Laugh or cry is a fixed phrase: 'His jokes are so awful that you don't know whether to laugh or cry.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

cry to produce tears from your eyes:
Don’t cry – everything will be all right!
Men aren’t supposed to cry.
cry your eyes out especially spoken to cry a lot and for a long time:
I cried my eyes out when I watched ‘Titanic’.
be in tears to be crying:
By the end of his story, we were all in tears.
be close to tears to be almost crying:
You could see that she was close to tears.
weep literary to cry, especially for a long time:
His mother put her head on the table and wept.
sob to cry, taking sudden loud breaths:
I could hear someone sobbing in the next room.
wail /weɪl/ to cry very loudly in a high voice:
The baby started wailing for its mother.
whimper /ˈwɪmpə $ -ər/ to cry quietly and weakly:
She began rocking to and fro, whimpering softly.
hold/fight back the tears to make a big effort not to cry:
She told her story, struggling to hold back the tears.
your eyes water if your eyes water, they have tears in them, for example because of smoke, wind, or when you are cutting onions:
The onions were making my eyes water.
burst into tears to suddenly start crying:
The man shouted at her and she burst into tears.
break down to start crying after trying hard not to cry, especially when talking about something very upsetting:
He broke down and begged for forgiveness.
When I saw what had happened to him, I just broke down and cried.
a cry of pain/despair/delight etc
A rock was loose and he fell with a sharp cry of surprise.
a cry escapes somebody/sb’s lips
A cry escaped her lips as he tightened his grip on her wrist.
give a cry
The woman looked up and gave a cry of fear.
let out/utter a cry
Seeing the fields and mountains, she let out a cry of delight.
a small/little cry
The child gave a small cry and burst into tears.
a loud cry
a loud cry of pain
a great cry literary (=a loud cry)
With a great cry they charged into battle.
a sharp cry (=loud, short, and sudden)
He gave a sharp cry of pain.
a low cry (=not loud or high)
I heard a long, low cry of despair.
a strangled/stifled cry (=that stops before it is finished)
The girl gave a stifled cry of disappointment.
a muffled cry (=that cannot be heard clearly)
I thought I heard a muffled cry from somewhere in the building.
an anguished/agonised cry (=full of distress)
She gave an anguished cry, calling his name.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

shout to say something very loudly:
The two men were shouting angrily at each other.
‘Wait for me!’ he shouted.
yell (also holler American English) to shout very loudly, especially because you are angry, excited, or in pain. Yell is more informal than shout:
The children were yelling at each other across the street.
‘Steve, are you there?’ Patti hollered up the stairs.
call (out) to shout in order to get someone’s attention:
He called her name but she didn’t hear him.
‘Is anybody there?’ he called out.
cry (out) written to shout something loudly, especially because you are in pain, frightened, or very excited:
‘I can’t move,’ Lesley cried.
He cried out in panic.
‘Look what I’ve found!’ she cried.
scream to shout in a very loud high voice, because you are frightened, unhappy, angry etc:
The baby wouldn’t stop screaming.
She screamed as she jumped into the cold water.
‘It’s my money!’ she screamed at him.
roar written to shout in a loud deep voice:
The crowd roared their appreciation.
‘Stop this nonsense!' he roared.
bellow written to shout in a loud deep voice, especially when you want a lot of people to hear you:
He was bellowing orders at the soldiers.
bawl to shout in a loud and unpleasant way, because you are angry or unhappy:
‘What are you doing?’ he bawled.
The kids were bawling in the back of the car.
She was always bawling at the children.
raise your voice to say something more loudly than normal, especially because you are angry:
I never heard my father raise his voice.
cheer if a group of people cheer, they shout as a way of showing their approval:
The crowd cheered when the band came on stage.
a loud scream
Suddenly I heard a loud scream.
a shrill/piercing/high-pitched scream (=with a very high sound)
The sound of gunfire mingled with the shrill screams of the injured.
a bloodcurdling scream (=very frightening)
With a blood-curdling scream, he threw himself at Paul.
a terrified scream (=by someone who is terrified)
I let out a terrified scream and scuttled down the stairs.
a terrible scream (=by someone suffering great pain or fear)
We were woken late that night by the most terrible screams.
a little scream
Mrs Wood gave a little scream.
a muffled/stifled scream (=made quieter, for example by putting a hand over someone’s mouth)
No one heard her muffled screams.
let out a scream
He let out a piercing scream.
give a scream
She gave a scream of delight.
a scream of laughter/delight
We could hear the children’s screams of laughter.
a scream of pain/terror/agony
My screams of terror awoke my parents.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cry
kraɪ
See: far cry , for crying out loud , hue and cry

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲