Cry meaning in English

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Definition

to cry: to produce tears, water from the eyes (especially when sad) verb
a cry: a shout, a yell, a scream noun
a cry for help a way of attracting attention to get help

Examples

  • "Announcer : General Oléré heard the cry of his countrymen and women."
  • "Susie : Oh come on now, Samantha, look, she's crying again."
  • "But, before she could leave the building, she heard a feminine cry for help..."
  • "Space Base Alpha : Cry as loud as you like."
  • "You've only been alive for a matter of months, but I've already had reports of public indecency, aggressive lullaby singing, diaper throwing, tummy aches, temper tantrums, loud crying and some very serious accusations of milk abuse."
  • "No crying!"
  • "I'm going to start crying, too EXCLAMATION POINT."
  • "You mean cry?"
  • "Look at me... crying like a little Brian Jones!"
  • "Baby going to cry if he doesn't have his milk."
  • "Horatio : Are you going to cry again, Brian?"
  • "Bruno : Brian, why are you crying?"
  • "Philip : Please stop crying PERIOD."
  • "It's so beautiful, I could cry."
  • "Harold : I promised myself I wouldn't cry."
  • "I don't cry."
  • "I couldn't go into work the next day because I was crying so much."
  • "That's great, but I'm not crying."
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks below with the appropriate terms from the dialogue.

This term describes trust, belief or confidence in something or someone. "By giving me the keys to your car, you are putting your in me"

This is one of the most common human reactions to pain, sadness and sometimes joy and happiness. It occurs when water comes out of your eyes. "Don't kick your brother or you'll make him ."
Fill in the blanks below with the appropriate terms from the dialogue.

This term describes trust, belief or confidence in something or someone. "By giving me the keys to your car, you are putting your faith 1 in me"

This is one of the most common human reactions to pain, sadness and sometimes joy and happiness. It occurs when water comes out of your eyes. "Don't kick your brother or you'll make him cry 2."
1 faith: This is correct. "To put your faith in someone" is an idiom which means to believe in someone, often because you trust them and because you have confidence in them. The term "faith" also describes a belief in a religion, for example "I have lost my faith in God since my beloved dog died last year."
2 cry: This is correct. "Crying" is a reaction that many people have after receiving strong emotional stimuli such as pain, sadness, and happiness. "To make someone cry" is to cause someone to shed tears, often if you have said something that is upsetting, or if you have caused them physical pain.
Exercise 2
Complete the story below using terms from the dialogue you just heard.

Icarus: Oh my god, Horatio, what's that in your eye? A tear? Oh, sweet Jesus, are you ?
Horatio: No! Well, yes. I recently broke up with my girlfriend Lorraine.
Icarus: The singer?
Horatio: Yes. She was a tenor like Placido Domingo. I miss the of her in my ears.
Icarus: I remember that the two of you were such a great ! A duo, a pair of beautiful people.
Horatio: We used to dance in the park and sing songs. We saw a rainbow once. It's over now (sniff).
Complete the story below using terms from the dialogue you just heard.

Icarus: Oh my god, Horatio, what's that in your eye? A tear? Oh, sweet Jesus, are you crying 1?
Horatio: No! Well, yes. I recently broke up with my girlfriend Lorraine.
Icarus: The singer?
Horatio: Yes. She was a tenor like Placido Domingo. I miss the sound 2 of her voice 3 in my ears.
Icarus: I remember that the two of you were such a great couple 4! A duo, a pair of beautiful people.
Horatio: We used to dance in the park and sing songs. We saw a rainbow once. It's over now (sniff).
1 crying: "Crying" is a reaction to strong emotional stimuli such as pain, sadness, and happiness. In this dialogue, Jean asks Kevin if he is "crying", and Kevin replies that he just has fluid "leaking" from his eyes! The verb "to cry" is regular: cry/cried/cried.
2 sound: "Sound" describes auditory things such as noise or music. The expression "the sound of (her) voice" is a common one, used to describe the quality of someone's voice. In this dialogue, Jean tells Kevin to follow the sound of his voice; he wants Kevin to approach him by using his words as a guide. The term "sound" rhymes with "pound", "crowned" and "found".
3 voice: The "voice" describes the sound or sounds produced by a person (generally). In this dialogue, Jean tells Kevin to follow the sound of his voice; he wants Kevin to approach him by using his words as a guide. The term "voice" rhymes with "choice", and is pronounced with a "oy" sound!
4 couple: "A couple" generally describes a "pair" or "two" of something, often people involved romantically. Note that the construction "a couple of (hours)", the same used by Kevin in this dialogue, is less precise and can refer to two to three hours.
Exercise 3
What is Philip angry about?

There may be more than one correct answer!
What is Philip angry about?

There may be more than one correct answer!
This is the correct answer. Philip is angry because the coffee machine didn't return the money left over after he paid for his coffee. This money is known as "change". As a noun, "change" also refers to coins in general. For example, it is not uncommon for people on the street to ask if you can "spare some change", i.e. give them some coins you have in your pocket or wallet.
This is an incorrect answer. Philip explains that he needs his aggression to help him do his job. He seems to like being aggressive, or at least to believe that it's necessary for him to be successful in business.
This statement is not true. Philip doesn't seem to care very much about whether he makes Hannah sad or not.
This is not true. The verb "to change" is different from the noun "change". The verb means "to transform or alter" something. E.g. "If you want to be my friend, I need you to change right now!"
Exercise 4
Icarus: Oh no, please, please don't yell at me again!

This means that he doesn't want Rachel to at him.
Icarus: Oh no, please, please don't yell at me again!

This means that he doesn't want Rachel to shout at him.
shout: "Shout" is the term closest in meaning to "yell" in this context. To "shout" and to "yell" (at someone) both mean to raise one's voice when talking to someone, in an aggressive way. Example: "Children, please stop yelling at each other: I have a headache!".
cry: "Cry" is not the best choice here. We "cry" when we are sad, and tears fall from our eyes. This is not synonymous with "to yell". Another example: "If the baby next door doesn't stop crying, I'm going to jump out the window".
call: "Call" is not the best choice here. To "call" someone is to telephone them. To "call out to somebody" is to attract their attention. This is not synonymous with "to yell". Another example: "I called the office this morning to tell them I was sick".
argue: "Argue" is not the best choice here. To "argue with someone" is to debate or discuss something with them, when you do not share the same opinion on a subject. This is not synonymous with "to yell". Another example: "Arguing with your spouse is a great way to spend the weekend".
Exercise 5
The station employee says "OK, don't fret". He means:
The station employee says "OK, don't fret". He means:
This is not synonymous with "to fret". Other ways of saying to "shout" are to "yell" and to "scream".
This is not synonymous with "to fret". The station employee does not want Jean to talk more slowly here.
This is the right answer. To "fret" means to "worry" or to "be anxious" about something. For example, "I always fret before I drive on to the ring road. There are so many crazy scooter drivers on there!".
This is not synonymous with "to fret". A synonym of to "cry" is to "sob" or to "weep".

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