cry out

phrasal 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

Why did state legislators spend so much time this session focused on energy affordability, yet say nothing when a select group of community members are crying out for a project route that will undermine all their work? —Barry Lee Cohen, Hartford Courant, 26 June 2025

But Buckley was a performer, not a policymaker, and in any case, the great affairs of the day—civil rights, Vietnam, the counterculture, Watergate—cried out for copy. —Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025

There’s no city in the United States crying out for its own higher minimum wage more than New York. —Paul Sonn, New York Daily News, 4 June 2025

The main trophies got away from them and judging by Alexander Sorloth’s miss against PSG yesterday — enough to drop Diego Simeone to his knees — their tired bodies are crying out for some sand to go with the sun. —Phil Hay, New York Times, 16 June 2025

Rhymes for cry out

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