Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cry

/kɹaɪ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.59 in modern English

Syllables
cry
IPA
/kɹaɪ/
8
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness.

Intransitive verb

verb

To utter loudly; to call out; to declare publicly.

Transitive verb

verb

To shout, scream, yell.

verb

To forcefully attract attention or proclaim one’s presence.

Intransitive verb

verb

To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals do.

Intransitive verb

verb

To cause to do something, or bring to some state, by crying or weeping.

Transitive verb

verb

To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.

verb

To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.

Example Sentences

Etymology

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /kɹaɪ/
  • British English: /kɹaɪ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

cries (present, singular) crying (participle, present) cried (participle, past) cried (past) no-table-tags (table tags) glossary (inflection template) cried (first person, past) cryed (archaic, first person) crode (archaic, first person) criest (archaic, present) cryest (archaic, present) cried (past, second person)

Derived Forms

becry catchcry crybaby cryey cryful crysome forecry undercry upcry countercry cryfest midcry

Phrases

all over but the crying cry aim cry all the way to the bank cry and seethe cry beef cry blue murder cry buckets cry carrots and turnips

Frequently Paired Words

crocodile tears

Synonyms

call bawl blubber sob wail weep whimper outcry yell shout vociferation

Homonyms

krai

Antonyms

laugh

Rhymes With

by my why high try guy buy july drive-by die eye hi

Questions

How do you pronounce cry?
The recorded pronunciation is /kɹaɪ/.
What does cry mean?
To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness.
Where does cry come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce cry

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cry”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kɹaɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cry”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cry” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.