1.NounUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cry, for, help.
"We heard the drowning woman's cries for help and ran to assist."
2.NounActing out as a means of displaying a subconscious desire for attention or help.
"In her second year at the school Alexis stopped doing her homework and would often scribble on walls. Her teachers wondered whether this was a cry for help, or if she was simply misbehaving."