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

At the funeral in Khan Younis Saturday afternoon, families wept over the bodies of their relatives and cried out in pain. —Samy Magdy, Chicago Tribune, 19 Apr. 2025

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution said that Mahdi cried out as the shots hit him and then groaned twice about 45 seconds after that. —Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025

This stunning sour strikes that balance most palates crave, while the strong, bright flavors cry out for something savory to munch on. —Leslie Kelly, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025

Monks cried out as a monastery building toppled over. —Matthew Cullen, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Rhymes for cry out

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