1
: a high shrill piercing cry usually expressing pain or terror
2
: a sound resembling a screech
screeched; screeching; screeches
1
: to utter a high shrill piercing cry : make an outcry usually in terror or pain
2
: to make a shrill high-pitched sound resembling a screech
also
: to move with such a sound
the car screeched to a stop
: to utter with or as if with a screech
screecher
noun
Synonyms
Examples of screech in a Sentence
Noun
With a loud screech, she smashed the plate against the wall.
Verb
I screeched when I saw the mouse.
He kept screeching at the children to pay attention.
“You can't do this to me!” she screeched.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ashley Stimpson, Washington Post, 15 June 2024
Our yips, clicks, chirps, screeches and hoots were seemingly endless.
—T. Nelson Thompson, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 2024
Zachary Crockett, thehustle.co, 7 June 2024
The company’s shares ended last week at a price of $27.75 per share, even lower than June 2020 levels, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought air travel to screeching halt.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 10 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for screech 
Noun
For the next three hours, as an ornery donkey screeches in the valley below, seven pairs of muddy boots trek back and forth across the field, stretching black plastic sheeting, fiddling with irrigation lines and tucking tomato seedlings into the ground.
—Ashley Stimpson, Washington Post, 15 June 2024
Our yips, clicks, chirps, screeches and hoots were seemingly endless.
—T. Nelson Thompson, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 2024
Verb
Live parrots screeched from a canopy of greenery, and simulated thunderstorms dusted the dining hall with clouds of mist.
—Zachary Crockett, thehustle.co, 7 June 2024
The company’s shares ended last week at a price of $27.75 per share, even lower than June 2020 levels, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought air travel to screeching halt.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 10 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for screech
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'screech.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Screech.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screech. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
screech
1 of 2 noun1
: a shrill harsh cry usually expressing pain or terror
2
: a sound like a screech
the screech of brakes
screech
2 of 2 verb1
: to cry out usually in terror or pain
2
: to make a sound like a screech
the car screeched to a halt
screecher
noun
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