cry her eyes out


verb (used without object), cried, crying.
to utter inarticulate sounds, especially of lamentation, grief, or suffering, usually with tears.
to weep; shed tears, with or without sound.
to call loudly; shout; yell (sometimes followed by out ).
to demand resolution or strongly indicate a particular disposition: The rise in crime cried out for greater police protection.
to give forth vocal sounds or characteristic calls, as animals; yelp; bark.
(of a hound or pack) to bay continuously and excitedly in following a scent.
(of tin) to make a noise, when bent, like the crumpling of paper.
verb (used with object), cried, crying.
to utter or pronounce loudly; call out.
to announce publicly as for sale; advertise: to cry one's wares.
to beg or plead for; implore: to cry mercy.
to bring (oneself) to a specified state by weeping: The infant cried itself to sleep.
noun, plural cries.
the act or sound of crying; any loud utterance or exclamation; a shout, scream, or wail.
clamor; outcry.
a fit of weeping: to have a good cry.
the utterance or call of an animal.
a political or party slogan.
an oral proclamation or announcement.
a call of wares for sale, services available, etc., as by a street vendor.
public report.
an opinion generally expressed.
an entreaty; appeal.
Fox Hunting.
a pack of hounds.
a continuous baying of a hound or a pack in following a scent.
Verb phrases
cry down, to disparage; belittle: Those people cry down everyone who differs from them.
cry off, to break a promise, agreement, etc.: We made arrangements to purchase a house, but the owner cried off at the last minute.
cry up, to praise; extol: to cry up one's profession.
a far cry,
quite some distance; a long way.
only remotely related; very different: This treatment is a far cry from that which we received before.
cry havoc. havoc ( def 4 ).
cry one's eyes/heart out, to cry excessively or inconsolably: The little girl cried her eyes out when her cat died.
cry over spilled/spilt milk. milk ( def 10 ).
in full cry, in hot pursuit: The pack followed in full cry.

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English crien < Anglo-French, Old French crier < Vulgar Latin *crītāre for Latin quirītāre to cry out in protest, make a public cry; associated by folk etymology with Quirītēs Quirites; (noun) < Anglo-French, Old French cri, noun derivative of the v.

countercry, noun, plural countercries.

1. wail, keen, moan. 2. sob, bawl, whimper. 3. yowl, bawl, clamor, vociferate, exclaim, ejaculate, scream. Cry, shout, bellow, roar refer to kinds of loud articulate or inarticulate sounds. Cry is the general word: to cry out. To shout is to raise the voice loudly in uttering words or other articulate sounds: He shouted to his companions. Bellow refers to the loud, deep cry of a bull, moose, etc., or, somewhat in deprecation, to human utterance that suggests such a sound: The speaker bellowed his answer. Roar refers to a deep, hoarse, rumbling or vibrant cry, often of tumultuous volume: The crowd roared approval. Unabridged
Cite This Source Link To cry her eyes out
World English Dictionary
cry (kraɪ)
vb (usually foll by out) (often foll by out) (often foll by out) (foll by for) , cries, crying, cried
1.  (intr) to utter inarticulate sounds, esp when weeping; sob
2.  (intr) to shed tears; weep
3.  to scream or shout in pain, terror, etc
4.  to utter or shout (words of appeal, exclamation, fear, etc)
5.  (of animals, birds, etc) to utter loud characteristic sounds
6.  (tr) to hawk or sell by public announcement: to cry newspapers
7.  to announce (something) publicly or in the streets
8.  to clamour or beg
9.  (Scot) to call
10.  cry for the moon to desire the unattainable
11.  cry one's eyes out, cry one's heart out to weep bitterly
12.  cry quits, cry mercy to give up a task, fight, etc
n , cries, crying, cried, cries
13.  the act or sound of crying; a shout, exclamation, scream, or wail
14.  the characteristic utterance of an animal or bird: the cry of gulls
15.  (Scot) a call
16.  archaic an oral announcement, esp one made by town criers
17.  a fit of weeping
18.  hunting the baying of a pack of hounds hunting their quarry by scent
19.  a pack of hounds
20.  a far cry
 a.  a long way
 b.  something very different
21.  in full cry (esp of a pack of hounds) in hot pursuit of a quarry
[C13: from Old French crier, from Latin quirītāre to call for help]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

early 13c., from O.Fr. crier, from L. quiritare "to wail, shriek," var. of quirritare "to squeal like a pig," from *quis, echoic of squealing, despite ancient folk etymology that traces it to "call for the help of the Quirites," the Roman constabulary. The meaning was extended 13c. to weep, which it
largely replaced by 16c. Most languages, like Eng., use the general word for "cry out, shout, wail" to also mean "weep, shed tears to express pain or grief." Romance and Slavic, however, use words for this whose ultimate meaning is "beat (the breast)," cf. Fr. pleurer, Sp. llorar, both from L. plorare "cry aloud," but probably originally plodere "beat, clap the hands." Also It. piangere (cognate with Fr. plaindre "lament, pity") from L. plangere, originally "beat," but especially of the breast, as a sign of grief. Crybaby is first recorded 1851, Amer.Eng. U.S. colloquial for crying out loud is 1924, probably another euphemism for for Christ's sake.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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