screech

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable) A high-pitched strident or piercing sound, such as that between a moving object and any surface.
2. (countable) A harsh, shrill cry, as of one in acute pain or in fright; a shriek; a scream.
3. (uncountable) Newfoundland rum.
4. (uncountable) A form of home-made rye whiskey made from used oak rye barrels from a distillery.

Verb

1. To make such a sound.
2. (figuratively, intransitive) To travel very fast, as if making the sound of a car that is driving too fast.

Synonyms

shriek

scream

😱

squeal

squawk

yell

screak

cry

😢

squeak

yelp

skreak

creak

screaming

screeching

shrieking

cry out

bawl

skreigh

caterwaul

whine

pipe

howl

squall

hoot

shout

whoop

yawp

bellow

wail

outcry

make alarm calls

blare

call

call out

caw

chatter

croak

crow

gibber

grate

grind

grizzle

halloo

mewl

oink

pule

quack

roar

snivel

ululate

vociferation

Translations

chillar

stridere

kreischen

chirriar

hurler

schreien

crissement

stridore

chillido

hurlement

crier

στριγκλίζω

grincement

grincer

crisser

Pronounced as (IPA)

/skɹiːt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: skriken

Inherited from Old English: -

Cognate with Icelandic: skríkja

Cognate with Old Saxon: scricōn

Cognate with Danish: skrige

Cognate with Swedish: skrika

Cognate with Middle Dutch: schriën

Cognate with German: schreien

In summary

1602; altered with expressive vowel lengthening from earlier skrech (1577), variant of obsolete scritch, from Middle English skriken, shrichen, schrichen (1250), from Old English (attested as scriccettan) and Old Norse skríkja, both from Proto-Germanic *skrīkijaną (compare Icelandic skríkja, Old Saxon scricōn, Danish skrige, Swedish skrika), derivative of *skrīhaną (compare Middle Dutch schriën, German schreien, Low German dial. schrien, schriegen), ultimately of imitative origin.

Sentences

I woke up to the screech of my neighbor practicing trumpet .