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

Guzman fell to the ground and cried out, his cousin told investigators. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

The boy cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, screaming for help. —Holly Yan, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025

Her story is about a child crying out. —Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025

After fans, artists, and management teams cried out for a solution, the companies resolved their standoff after 10 days. —Jeff Benjamin, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for cry out

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