cry
/kɹaɪ/verb, noun
cry is spelled C-R-Y: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 39 times per million words in written English, the 2,523rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, cry means “To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cry?
| Letters | 3: C-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 39 times per million words; the 2,523rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cry?
Cry appears 39 times per million words in written English, the 2,523rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cry?
- US /kɹaɪ/
Cry has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cry.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cry?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cry from its last stressed vowel (/aɪ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cry
- cries present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- crying participle, present
- cried participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cry mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness.
That sad movie always makes me cry.
- 2
To utter loudly; to call out; to declare publicly.
- 3
To shout, scream, yell.
- 4
To forcefully attract attention or proclaim one’s presence.
- 5
To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals do.
- 6
To cause to do something, or bring to some state, by crying or weeping.
Tonight I’ll cry myself to sleep.
- 7
To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.
to cry goods
- 8
Hence, to publish the banns of, as for marriage.
noun
- 1
A shedding of tears; the act of crying.
After we broke up, I retreated to my room for a good cry.
- 2
A shout or scream.
I heard a cry from afar.
- 3
Words shouted or screamed.
a battle cry
- 4
A clamour or outcry.
- 5
archaicA group of hounds.
- 6
derogatoryobsoleteA pack or company of people.
- 7
A typical sound made by the species in question.
"Woof" is the cry of a dog, while "neigh" is the cry of a horse.
- 8
A desperate or urgent request.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cry in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pleurer , hurler, crier, gueuler , pleur , cri |
| German | weinen, heulen, brüele, briegge , schreien , Weinen |
| Portuguese | chorar , gritar , choro , brado , berrar, bradar |
| Spanish | llorar, plorar (desus.) , gritar , llanto , plañir, llantear (desus.) |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cry come from?
The verb is from Middle English crien (13th century), from Old French crier, from Vulgar Latin *crītāre, generally thought to derive from Classical Latin quirītāre (Proto-West Germanic *krītan has also been suggested as a source). The noun corresponds to Middle English cry, crie, from Old French cri, a deverbal of crier.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).