How to Use screech in a Sentence

screech

1 of 2 noun
Definition of screechnext
Synonyms for screechnext
  • With a loud screech, she smashed the plate against the wall.
  • And then — screech!— life slams the breaks on all of this.
    — Kaitlyn Pirie, Good Housekeeping, 11 Aug. 2020
  • My team scored first, prompting me to jump off the couch and screech.
    — Rebecca R. Ruiz, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2022
  • The hiss of the blowtorch and the screech of nearby trains were its soundtrack.
    — Dianne Solis, Dallas News, 10 Jan. 2020
  • How is the whole world not having a big collective screech to get the job done?
    — Chris Willman, chicagotribune.com, 16 Aug. 2020
  • The birds and animals the workers didn't shoot for food would be scared away by the screech of chain saws.
    — Carolina Schneider Comandulli, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2022
  • The screech of a Democratic Party swerving hard to the left.
    — Vera Bergengruen, Time, 27 June 2019
  • The door swung open with a clunk and a screech, and cold clean air rushed into his lungs like the first breath after a storm.
    — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, 8 July 2018
  • The tower's steel girders shivered and, with a mighty screech, bent in two.
    — The Oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, 29 Dec. 2017
  • Video of the crash showed the car reversing and hitting more people amid a screech of tires.
    — Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati.com, 14 Dec. 2017
  • On a recent day patrol in the Small Mammal House, there’s a loud screech.
    — James V. Grimaldi, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The young girl jumped from her chair and gave a long screech before covering her mouth in shock.
    — Perry Stein, Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2019
  • Angry chants were lost amid the screech of ambulance sirens.
    — Louisa Loveluck, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2019
  • Bald eagles screech and swoop from treetop to rock top, tearing into the flesh of fish.
    — Amy Gulick, The New Republic, 5 Nov. 2020
  • This program will include a trio of screech owls, a barn owl and a peregrine falcon.
    — Hartford Courant, 10 June 2022
  • Dining in the dark, Leshchenko heard the screech of a Russian shell falling in the hotel’s direction.
    — Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 8 Sep. 2022
  • Think of the potential for cute flying squirrels, screech owls and tree frogs!
    — Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 20 Apr. 2022
  • Listen to birds caw, chirp and screech as squirrels forage.
    — Patrick Connolly, orlandosentinel.com, 3 Dec. 2021
  • Later on that evening, there was a loud screech followed by the explosion.
    — Anna Gordon, TIME, 20 Oct. 2023
  • The sounds of beastly screeches and splashing water came from the bathroom.
    — Ellyn Laub, sun-sentinel.com, 21 Nov. 2019
  • So don’t expect to hear the growl of an overtuned V-8, the bark of an amplified exhaust, the screech of tires digging for grip.
    — Stephen Williams, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2020
  • As Flores spoke, the iron bars made a metallic screech as a woman pushed a baby stroller through the opening.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2022
  • Erich accepts her final rose, and all the peacocks screech in approval.
    — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 21 Sep. 2022
  • This is how the human race ends: with the shallow clang of metal on metal, a squalling screech, the heavy stomp and throb of percussion.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 21 Feb. 2020
  • Later, Audrey stumbles while on a sloping incline and lets out a screech that echoes in the alpine air.
    — Shariffa Ali, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2023
  • Each day since has brought the wail of air-raid sirens, the screech of breaking glass and numbingly frequent moments of silence for the dead.
    — Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2022
  • Synthetic melodies rip through the room with a sugary-sweet screech, then abruptly cut.
    — Kat Bein, Billboard, 13 Dec. 2017
  • Undeterred, the car sped away with a screech of tires, and construction workers gave chase in their own cars.
    — Peter Wade, Esquire, 26 Mar. 2017
  • The Bird Call – in which three students compete by creating their own version of a bird screech and strut.
    — Laura Hinderman, Daily Southtown, 31 May 2017
  • Silver fish leap above the surface, twisting like gymnasts, and a pet peacock screeches from the shore.
    — Kiley Bense, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
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screech

2 of 2 verb
  • The lights go out and the song comes to a screeching halt.
    — Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 8 Dec. 2023
  • The van sped up and screeched to a halt next to his dark 2014 BMW sedan.
    — Emily Davies, Washington Post, 6 June 2023
  • Suddenly, a squad car screeched to a stop in front of the house.
    — Detroit Free Press, 15 May 2018
  • At the last second, the man screeched to a halt, peeled out of the parking lot and drove away.
    — USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2024
  • Would any of the guys take one look at me and jump back into the limo and screech off?
    — Becca Kufrin, PEOPLE.com, 29 May 2018
  • Just then, a white jeep sped down the corner, screeching to a halt.
    — Andrew V. Papachristos, Scientific American, 9 June 2023
  • That was a mistake; my leg all but screeched on its brakes.
    — Vanessa Hua, SFChronicle.com, 12 Dec. 2019
  • And the girls were screeching, the teachers were groaning.
    — Ed Masley, azcentral, 12 Dec. 2019
  • Two lemurs could be heard screeching in the background.
    — Livia Albeck-Ripka, New York Times, 13 July 2023
  • The sun had just set in Tehran when the car screeched up alongside me in the parking lot of the old Hilton Hotel.
    — Gerald F. Seib, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2019
  • Strangely enough, though, its screeching U-turn on the trucks IPO is still the right thing to do.
    — Chris Bryant | Bloomberg, Washington Post, 14 May 2019
  • Someone complains that the birds on the first floor have been screeching.
    — New York Times, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Her boyfriend screeched the car to a halt in front of a rundown house on Northeast Mason Street.
    — oregonlive, 3 Nov. 2019
  • A number of spectators milled around in the street as the car screeched in circles around them.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2023
  • The frightened driver screeched to a stop at a red light, jumped out of the cab, and gestured toward its rear.
    — Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 19 June 2019
  • But then, there was the sound of a crash and as the traffic on Hopmeadow Street screeched to a halt, the officers rushed to the road.
    — Emily Brindley, courant.com, 6 Nov. 2019
  • At night coconut crabs scuttled across the roof to the sound of screeching metal.
    — Ngm Maps, National Geographic, 12 June 2019
  • And then, a mile away from my exit, with the blazing sun high in the sky, traffic came to screeching halt.
    — Crystal Paul, The Seattle Times, 7 Aug. 2018
  • Seated in a jeep and clutching a screeching Geiger counter, Lt.
    — Sergei L. Loiko, latimes.com, 30 June 2019
  • Zippy, tiny cars screech down the narrow side streets, somehow dodging cars parked along the side of the road and, well, me.
    — Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Oct. 2019
  • To make the humans happy, the screeching white feather balls got names.
    — Tom Leyden, Indianapolis Star, 5 June 2018
  • Four years ago, a virus brought everyday life in the United States to a screeching halt.
    — Elizabeth Yuko, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2024
  • When the lockdown was declared in March, his car rental business came to a screeching halt.
    — Cheryl Hall, Dallas News, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Eventually, the train screeched to a halt near the town of Liaquatpur.
    — Fox News, 1 Nov. 2019
  • My tires screeched to avoid hitting a lone coyote in the chilly 28-degree winter air.
    — Emily Pennington, Outside Online, 26 Apr. 2020
  • When this market breaks down, the entire economy can screech to a halt.
    — Matt Egan, CNN, 7 Dec. 2020
  • Louison said she was awakened from a deep sleep by the sound of screeching tires outside.
    — Matt Tunseth, Anchorage Daily News, 27 May 2018
  • Scores of birds fluttered and screeched as gun battles raged outside.
    — Sufian Taha, Washington Post, 9 July 2023
  • Officer Pagano’s squad car screeched to a halt, blocking my path.
    — Washington Post, 12 Nov. 2019
  • At what felt like its peak intensity, the winds screeched and howled like jets, and water swamped some homes.
    — Grace Garces Bordallo and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Anchorage Daily News, 25 May 2023

Some of 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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