cry

/kɹaɪ/

//kɹaɪ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cry" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cry” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,525) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,525
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cry · cry · English

cry · rank #2,525 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,525
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corporation

Nearest frequency peer: corporation (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “cry”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “cry” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cry vs CT
0% similar
cry vs cs
33% similar
cry vs CV
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cry
PropertyValue
Headwordcry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɹaɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,525
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “cry”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).crylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “corporation” (#2,524), “danger” (#2,526), “controlled” (#2,523). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cry” is #2,525. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for cry is neighbouring look-alikes ("CT", "cs", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /kɹaɪ/. Frequency #2,525 among 5,599 “C” headwords. 8 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for cry in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CT", "cs", "CV", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 Mi… The correct English form is cry, spelled C-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness.
  2. 2
    To utter loudly; to call out; to declare publicly.
  3. 3
    To shout, scream, yell.
  4. 4
    To forcefully attract attention or proclaim one’s presence.
  5. 5
    To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals do.
  6. 6
    To cause to do something, or bring to some state, by crying or weeping.
  7. 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.
  8. 8
    To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, auctioned, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. That sad movie always makes me cry.
  2. - Emerl: “There’s nothing worse than making a girl cry!” That’s what Sonic said...

Etymology

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. etymology note Middle English crien eventually displaced native Middle English galen (“to cry out”) (from Old English galan), Middle English greden (“to cry out”) (from Old English grǣdan), Middle English yermen (“to bellow, mourn, lament”) (from Old English ġierman), Middle English hooen, hoen (“to cry out”) (from Old Norse hóa), Middle English remen (“to cry, shout”) (from Old English hrīeman, compare Old English hrēam (“noise, outcry, lamentation, alarm”)), Middle English greten, graten (“to weep, cry, lament”) (from Old English grǣtan and Old Norse gráta). More at greet, regret. Already in the 13th century, the meaning was extended to include the sense "to shed tears" (natively weep); cry used in this sense had mostly replaced weep by the 16th century.

Synonyms

bawlblubbersobwailweepwhimper

Antonyms

laugh

This word in other languages

llorar(Español)pleurer(Français)weinen(Deutsch)chorar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cry"?
"cry" is spelled C-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹaɪ/.
What does "cry" mean?
As a verb, "cry" means: To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness.
What words are commonly confused with "cry"?
"cry" is commonly confused with "CT", "cs", "CV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cry" is /kɹaɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cry"?
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 corresp... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kim#2,541row#2,498don#2,480BBC#2,612

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list