cry out for

English

Etymology

cry + out + for

Verb

cry out for (third-person singular simple present cries out for, present participle crying out for, simple past and past participle cried out for)

1. To be in urgent need (of)

   This state of affairs is crying out for an independent investigation.

   • 1964 July, Mary Allen, “A Woman's View of the New Coaches”, in Modern Railways, page 9:

     The pull-out or pull-down tables and litter bins in every compartment and seating bay are amenities which women, particularly those with young children, have been crying out for almost as long as railways have been in operation.

References

• “cry out for”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.