cry out

verb

cried out; crying out; cries out

1

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

She cried out in pain.

2

: 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.

3

—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

Whatever the reasons, Arsenal appeared to almost thwart themselves for much of a game that cried out for some ice-cool precision in front of goal. — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Edgewater has other locations crying out for mixed-use development where an even greater number of housing units could be built. — Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026

As if a million white collar workers suddenly cried out in terror at once, a great disturbance in the AI force forced down every major AI chatbot service — a brief moment of reprieve from our AI empire overlords. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 3 Sep. 2026

Mourners wiped away tears, raised their hands and cried out as coffins arrived at a church in the farming community of Kenscoff. — Evens Sanon, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for cry out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout