cry

Word family  noun cry crying outcry adjective crying verb cry

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Human

cry1 /kraɪ/ ●●● S2 W2 verb (cried, crying, cries)  1  produce tears 流泪 [intransitive, transitive]HBH to produce tears from your eyes, usually because you are unhappy or hurt 哭，哭泣 Don’t cry, Laura. It’ll be OK. 不要哭，劳拉，没事的。 Upstairs, a baby began to cry. 楼上有个婴儿开始哭起来。 Jamie looked like he’d been crying. 杰米看上去好像哭过了。 I just couldn’t stop crying. 我就是哭个不停。 That film always makes me cry. 那部影片总是让我落泪。cry over/about I am too old to be crying over some young guy. 我已过了会为一个小伙子伤心哭泣的年纪了。cry with/in She felt like crying with frustration. 她沮丧得直想哭。cry for She could hear him crying for his mother. 她听到他在哭着要妈妈。cry your eyes/heart out (=be extremely sad and cry a lot) 眼睛都哭红了/哭得伤心欲绝 Oliver, alone, began to cry bitterly (=cry a lot). 奥利弗独自一人，开始伤心地哭了。cry yourself to sleep (=cry until you fall asleep) 哭到睡着2  say loudly 大声说 [transitive] writtenSHOUT to shout or say something loudly 喊叫 SYN cry out ‘Stop!’ she cried. “停下！”她喊道。 It was painful, and made me cry aloud. 这很痛，痛得我大叫起来。cry to ‘Goodbye then!’ he cried to her. “那么再见了！”他向她喊道。cry for I could hear voices crying for help. 我听到求救的呼喊声。3  cry over spilt milk REGRET/FEEL SORRYto waste time feeling sorry about an earlier mistake or problem that cannot be changed 作无益的悔恨 It’s no use crying over spilt milk. 木已成舟，哭也无用。4  for crying out loud spokenANNOY used when you feel annoyed or impatient with someone 岂有此理；天哪〔用于感到厌烦或不耐烦时〕 For crying out loud, stop nagging! 够了，别再嘀咕个没完！5  cry foul to protest because you think something is wrong or not fair 抱怨，埋怨 When the ads appeared, it was the Democrats’ turn to cry foul. 广告刊登以后，就轮到民主党抗议了。6  animals/birds 动物/鸟类 [intransitive]HBLOW SOUND OR VOICE if animals or birds cry, they make a loud sound 〔动物〕大声叫；〔鸟〕鸣叫 I could hear gulls crying and the soft whisper of the sea. 我听到海鸥在鸣叫，大海在低语。7. cry wolf LIE/TELL A LIEto ask for help when you do not need it, so that people do not believe you when you really need help 喊狼来了；谎报险情，发假警报8. cry into your beer informalSAD/UNHAPPY to feel too much pity for yourself, especially because you think you have been treated unfairly 〔尤因受不公正待遇而〕感到十分委屈9 cry off phrasal verb British English CHANGE YOUR MINDto say that you cannot do something that you have already promised to do 取消承诺，变卦 → cancel Leah and I were going to go to Morocco together, but at the last moment she cried off. 利娅和我原打算一起去摩洛哥，但到最后一刻她变卦了。10 cry out phrasal verb a) SHOUTto make a loud sound of fear, shock, pain etc 〔由于害怕 震惊、疼痛等而〕大声喊叫 in/with Even the smallest movement made him cry out in pain. 哪怕是轻轻一动都会痛得他大叫起来。 John tightened his grip until she cried out. 约翰抓得紧紧的，直到她痛得大声喊叫。b)SAY LOUDLY 大声说 SHOUTto shout or say something loudly 大声呼喊；大声说 ‘Why are you doing this?’ she cried out suddenly. “你为什么要这么做？”她突然大叫道。 for I felt too terrified to even cry out for help. 我害怕得连呼救都喊不出来。c) be crying out for something informalNEED to need something urgently 迫切需要某物 The kitchen is crying out for a coat of paint. 厨房急需油漆一遍。 My parents had divorced and I was crying out for love. 父母离婚了，我迫切需要得到关爱。 → 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)n COLLOCATIONSverbsstart/begin to cryShe suddenly started to cry.make somebody cryThe end of the book was so sad that it made me cry.stop cryingEventually, he stopped crying and told me what happened.phrasesfeel like cryingI 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.adverbscry loudlyShe fell on her bed, crying loudly.cry quietly/softlyPeople sat crying softly among the wreckage.cry silentlyWhen 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. THESAURUScry to produce tears from your eyes 哭，哭泣Don’t cry – everything will be all right! 别哭，一切都会好起来的！Men aren’t supposed to cry. 男人是不能哭的。cry your eyes out especially spoken to cry a lot and for a long time 眼睛都哭红了I cried my eyes out when I watched ‘Titanic’. 我在看《泰坦尼克号》的时候眼睛都哭红了。be in tears to be crying 在哭泣By the end of his story, we were all in tears. 他的故事讲到结尾时，我们大家都泪流满面。be close to tears to be almost crying 快要哭了You could see that she was close to tears. 你可以看出她都快哭了。weep literary to cry, especially for a long time 〔尤指长时间地〕哭泣His mother put her head on the table and wept. 他母亲把头靠在桌子上哭泣。sob to cry, taking sudden loud breaths 啜泣，抽噎I could hear someone sobbing in the next room. 我听到隔壁房间有人在抽抽搭搭地哭。wail /weɪl/ to cry very loudly in a high voice 大声号哭The baby started wailing for its mother. 宝宝开始大声哭着要妈妈。whimper /ˈwɪmpə $ -ər/ to cry quietly and weakly 轻声抽泣She began rocking to and fro, whimpering softly. 她开始前后摇着身体，呜呜地轻声抽泣。hold/fight back the tears to make a big effort not to cry 忍住泪水She told her story, struggling to hold back the tears. 她强忍着泪水叙述她的遭遇。your eyes water if your eyes water, they have tears in them, for example because of smoke, wind, or when you are cutting onions 〔因为烟、风,或切洋葱时〕流眼泪The onions were making my eyes water. 洋葱呛得我眼睛直流泪。to start crying 开始哭泣burst into tears to suddenly start crying 〔突然〕哭起来The man shouted at her and she burst into tears. 那男人对她叫嚷，她哭了起来。break down to start crying after trying hard not to cry, especially when talking about something very upsetting 忍不住哭出来He broke down and begged for forgiveness. 他失声痛哭，乞求原谅。nWhen I saw what had happened to him, I just broke down and cried.→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

cry• "Come and see what I've found!" Kurt cried.• The film was so sad, it made me cry.• During one closing argument that summer, Gwinn broke down and cried.• When she opened her eyes and saw that she had again missed the tray, she cried.• "What are we going to do?" she cried.• Kim's eyes were red and she looked as though she'd been crying.• Jenny won't tell me what she's crying about.• I sat alone in my room and cried and cried.• Take on the world and never cry craven, he'd said.• The poor kid's so miserable, he's upstairs crying his eyes out.• Don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you.• "I can't move, " Lesley cried. "I think I've broken my leg."• I could hear the baby crying in the next room.• The seagulls on the cliffs were crying loudly.• At night I'd cry myself to sleep, thinking about you.• In these early weeks of her dying, Sycorax slept, and in her sleep, cried out.• The baby was crying, so I went in to check on him.• Emmie had cried until her eyes were hot and her throat dry and aching.• If we cry when we are sad, the physiological response is tears from the eyes and nose.• She cried with joy when she heard that the children were safe.• The growers who are crying wolf today about the lack of water will post their annual profits in a few months.makes ... cry• Finding where I lived makes me cry.• It is the onion, memory, that makes me cry.• Plus the way, increasingly, that anything makes me cry.• The shock of cold water makes me cry out with surprise.cry aloud• He caught Sally-Anne's wrist in his hand with such strength that she cried aloud.• This was very painful, and made me cry aloud.• We were near the top when a man on the left cried aloud.• She heard herself cry aloud, as if she had left her body, expelled by the spasm which shook it.• The situation cries aloud for strong, even dramatic, and also attention-winning, arguments.• She cried aloud in joyous elation, her body still on fire, holding on to the magical moment as long as she could.

Related topics: Animals

cry2 ●●○ W3 noun (plural cries)  1  sound expressing emotion 表达情感的声音 [countable]SHOUT a loud sound expressing a strong emotion such as pain, fear, or pleasure 〔因疼痛、害怕或高兴等发出的〕叫喊声 a baby’s cry 婴儿的叫喊声cry of pain/alarm/delight etc Alice let out a cry of alarm. 艾丽斯惊叫了一声。let out/give a cry The stone hit him on the forehead and he gave a sharp cry. 石头打在他的额头上，他尖叫了一声。2  shout 喊叫 [countable]SHOUT a shouted word or phrase 呼喊声cry of At last, there was a cry of ‘Silence!’, and everyone looked towards the door. 最后有人喊了一声“安静！”，大家都朝门口看去。cry for Fortunately, a passerby heard his cries for help. 幸运的是，有个过路人听到了他的呼救声。3  tears 眼泪 [singular] especially British EnglishCRY a period of time during which tears come out of your eyes, usually because you are unhappy 哭，哭泣 It’s good to have a cry sometimes. 有时候哭一哭倒是有好处。 I felt much better after I’d had a good cry (=cried for a long time). 我痛哭一场后感觉好多了。4  cry for help something someone says or does that shows that they are very unhappy and need help 需要帮助的表现 I think taking the pills was a cry for help. 我觉得服药是求助的一种表现。5  phrase 短语 [countable]UNITE a phrase that is used to unite people in support of a particular action or idea 口号 SYN slogan ‘Land and Liberty’ was the rallying cry of revolutionary Mexico. “土地和自由”是墨西哥革命的战斗口号。 → battle cry(1), war cry6  animal/bird 动物/鸟 [countable]HBA a sound made by a particular animal 〔某种动物的〕鸣叫，吠，嗥叫 SYN call the cries of seagulls overhead 头顶上海鸥的鸣叫声 → be a far cry from something at far2(5), → in full cry at full1(22), → hue and cryn COLLOCATIONSphrasesa cry of pain/despair/delight etcA rock was loose and he fell with a sharp cry of surprise.a cry escapes somebody/sb’s lipsA cry escaped her lips as he tightened his grip on her wrist.verbsgive a cryThe woman looked up and gave a cry of fear.let out/utter a crySeeing the fields and mountains, she let out a cry of delight.adjectivesa small/little cryThe child gave a small cry and burst into tears.a loud crya loud cry of paina 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.

Examples from the Corpus

cry• All at once I felt the ground moving under my feet, and cries issuing from it.• From below there were the hoarse confused cries of the mob.• A distant cry can be heard issuing from a classroom.• It is a far cry from most people's idea of accountants at work.• That seems a far cry from just a few years ago when the only diesels were lorries, buses and the occasional taxi.• A far cry from the 40,000 they were promising.• You'll feel better when you've had a good cry.• "Land and liberty" was the rallying cry of revolutionary Mexico.• We heard a child's cries for help coming from the river.• As they left the stage there were cries of "More! More!"cry of pain/alarm/delight etc• He flicked the light-switch, and Isobel, who loved cars, gave a cry of delight.• But when he uncovered the picture, he gave a cry of pain.• Behind him Hrun screamed, but it sounded more like a bellow of rage than a cry of pain.• There was a cry of pain.• With one last blinding cry of pain she brushed past him and ran from the room.• He stumbled, and lay in agony, his cries of pain clearly audible around a now-hushed ground.• Grunts, laughter, thuds, slaps, cries of pain and more grunts continued.• According to another speculation, vocal language gradually evolved from spontaneous cries of pain, pleasure, or other emotions.cry of• We heard a distant cry of warning.• From below came the hoarse cries of the injured workers.• the cries of seagullshave a cry• I could have cried had our situation not been so serious.• She felt so ineffective, she could have cried.• And during that year I have cried alone in secret too many times to count.• I have cried for Sybil, yes, but I can not cry today.• I may have cried down the telephone, but Mme Dragon wouldn't unbend.• She may have cried a good deal without understanding why.• I must have cried out, for I attracted the attention of my husband.• If he could have known that he was a workhouse orphan, perhaps he would have cried even more loudly.rallying cry• This rhetoric offers both a posthoc justification for the changes, and a rallying cry for implementation.• They both hated orthodoxies and bandwagons, catch-phrases and rallying cries.• Public order is an election rallying cry and fear of crime can influence practice as well as policy.• Self-denial and self-help, however, would make a poor rallying cry for the hustings.• It has been a radical rallying cry ever since Lenin laid it down as doctrine.• Newspapers sometimes appeared to be providing the rallying cry for future demonstration.• That was the rallying cry of Nelson Mandela's finely crafted speech.Origin cry1 (1200-1300) Old French crier, from Latin quiritare “to shout for help (from a citizen), scream”, from Quiris “Roman citizen”

cry1 verb →n COLLOCATIONS1 →THESAURUS1cry2 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1LDOCE OnlineChinese  

your tears eyes, Corpus produce from to

cry

I

cry¹ S2 W2 /kraɪ/ verb (past tense and past participle cried, present participle crying, third person singular cries)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
   SYN  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)
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ 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.
■ phrases
   ▪ 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.
■ adverbs
   ▪ 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.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ 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.
■ to start crying
   ▪ 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.
     
cry off phrasal verb British English
  to say that you cannot do something that you have already promised to do ⇨ cancel:
    Leah and I were going to go to Morocco together, but at the last moment she cried off.
cry out phrasal verb
  1. to make a loud sound of fear, shock, pain etc
    cry out in/with
    Even the smallest movement made him cry out in pain.
    John tightened his grip until she cried out.
  2. to shout or say something loudly:
    ‘Why are you doing this?’ she cried out suddenly.
    cry out for
    I felt too terrified to even cry out for help.
  3. be crying out for something informal to need something urgently:
    The kitchen is crying out for a coat of paint.
    My parents had divorced and I was crying out for love.

II

cry² W3 noun (plural cries)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
   SYN  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
   SYN  call:
    the cries of seagulls overhead
⇨ be a far cry from something at far²(5), ⇨ in full cry at full¹(22), ⇨ hue and cry
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ phrases
   ▪ 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.
■ verbs
   ▪ 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.
■ adjectives
   ▪ 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.

Cry
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.