cry for help

English

Noun

cry for help (plural cries for help)

1. (idiomatic) Acting 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.

2. Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning.

   We heard the drowning woman's cries for help and ran to assist.