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cry up

C1 formal separable transitive

To praise or promote something enthusiastically, especially in public; to extol the virtues of something.

In plain English

To talk very positively about something to make others think it's great.

What does "cry up" mean?

One main meaning — here's how to use it.

1 C1 idiomatic formal

To praise something publicly and enthusiastically in order to promote it.

"The publisher cried up the debut novel as the most important work of the decade."

separable

Literal vs figurative

Words literally mean

To cry out ('up' = publicly) about something's good qualities.

Actually means

To talk very positively about something to make others think it's great.

Usage tip

Formal and somewhat archaic. Rarely used in modern everyday speech. More likely to appear in older literature or formal writing. The modern equivalent would be 'talk up' or 'hype up'.

Words that pair with "cry up"

Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.

virtues qualities product candidate book plan

How to conjugate "cry up"

The five tense forms you'll use most often.

Base
cry up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
cries up
he/she/it
Past simple
cried up
yesterday
Past participle
cried up
have + pp
-ing form
crying up
continuous

Hear "cry up" in the wild

Listen to native speakers using "cry up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.

Other ways to say "cry up"

Swap in when you want variety — tap a linked one to explore it.

big up extol hype praise promote talk up

Keep exploring

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