cry out

phrasal verb

cried out; crying out; cries out

: to make a loud sound because of pain, fear, surprise, etc.

She cried out in pain.

: to speak in a loud voice : to say something loudly or from a distance

We could hear them on the shore crying out to us, so we waved.

She cried out for help.

—used to say that something clearly needs or should have a particular thing, person, use, etc.

—often + to be

A chair like this cries out to be used, not kept in some museum.

The meal cried out to be eaten with a nice white wine.

—often + for

The meal cried out for a nice white wine.

The job cries out for someone who's not afraid to take chances.

Examples of cry out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Toward the end of the clip, Saldana puts on a show from the middle of a dinner table and Gomez cries out in the middle of a mob of dancers. —

Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2024 The origin of the patient’s infection is unknown, at least to the public, and the incidence of other people in close contact showing symptoms of their own cries out for more information and background. —

Chloe Berger, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2024 As the women cry out for their own mothers, their sobs mingle with the mewling of newborns, who will spend the first days of their lives in tents built precariously atop rocks and gravel. —

Sophie Neiman, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Sep. 2024 Each delicious grotesque cries out to the divine and shivers in earthly pleasure. —

Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cry out