screech

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screech

(skrēch)

1. A high-pitched, strident cry.

2. A sound suggestive of this cry: the screech of train brakes.

v. screeched, screech·ing, screech·es

v.tr.

To utter in a screech or high-pitched voice.

v.intr.

1. To cry out in a high-pitched, strident voice.

2. To make a sound suggestive of a screech: Tires screeched on the wet pavement.

[Alteration of obsolete scrich, from Middle English scrichen, to screech, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skrækja.]

screech′er n.

screech′i·ness n.

screech′y adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

screech

(skriːtʃ)

a shrill, harsh, or high-pitched sound or cry

to utter with or produce a screech

[C16: variant of earlier scritch, of imitative origin]

ˈscreecher n

screech

(skriːtʃ)

(Brewing) (esp in Newfoundland) a dark rum

[perhaps special use of screech¹]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

screech

(skritʃ)

v.i.

1. to utter or make a harsh, shrill cry or sound.

v.t.

2. to utter with a screech.

3. a harsh, shrill cry or sound.

[1550–60; variant of obsolete scritch to scream; akin to screak]

screech′er, n.

screech•y, adj. screech•i•er, screech•i•est.

screech

(skritʃ)

n. Canadian Slang.

1. a strong dark rum of Newfoundland.

2. any cheap liquor.

[1945–50; ultimately < Scottish dial. screigh whisky]

Screech

of gulls.

screech

Past participle: screeched
Gerund: screeching

Imperative
screech
screech

Present
I screech
you screech
he/she/it screeches
we screech
you screech
they screech

Preterite
I screeched
you screeched
he/she/it screeched
we screeched
you screeched
they screeched

Present Continuous
I am screeching
you are screeching
he/she/it is screeching
we are screeching
you are screeching
they are screeching

Present Perfect
I have screeched
you have screeched
he/she/it has screeched
we have screeched
you have screeched
they have screeched

Past Continuous
I was screeching
you were screeching
he/she/it was screeching
we were screeching
you were screeching
they were screeching

Past Perfect
I had screeched
you had screeched
he/she/it had screeched
we had screeched
you had screeched
they had screeched

Future
I will screech
you will screech
he/she/it will screech
we will screech
you will screech
they will screech

Future Perfect
I will have screeched
you will have screeched
he/she/it will have screeched
we will have screeched
you will have screeched
they will have screeched

Future Continuous
I will be screeching
you will be screeching
he/she/it will be screeching
we will be screeching
you will be screeching
they will be screeching

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been screeching
you have been screeching
he/she/it has been screeching
we have been screeching
you have been screeching
they have been screeching

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been screeching
you will have been screeching
he/she/it will have been screeching
we will have been screeching
you will have been screeching
they will have been screeching

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been screeching
you had been screeching
he/she/it had been screeching
we had been screeching
you had been screeching
they had been screeching

Conditional
I would screech
you would screech
he/she/it would screech
we would screech
you would screech
they would screech

Past Conditional
I would have screeched
you would have screeched
he/she/it would have screeched
we would have screeched
you would have screeched
they would have screeched

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	screech - a high-pitched noise resembling a human cry; "he ducked at the screechings of shells"; "he heard the scream of the brakes" screeching, shriek, shrieking, scream, screaming noise - sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound); "he enjoyed the street noises"; "they heard indistinct noises of people talking"; "during the firework display that ended the gala the noise reached 98 decibels"
	2.	screech - sharp piercing cry; "her screaming attracted the neighbors" scream, screaming, shriek, shrieking, screeching cry, outcry, shout, vociferation, yell, call - a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition; "the speaker was interrupted by loud cries from the rear of the audience"
Verb	1.	screech - make a high-pitched, screeching noise; "The door creaked when I opened it slowly"; "My car engine makes a whining noise" creak, screak, skreak, squeak, whine make noise, noise, resound - emit a noise
	2.	screech - utter a harsh abrupt scream skreigh, squawk, screak, skreak cry, scream, shout out, yell, squall, shout, holler, hollo, call - utter a sudden loud cry; "she cried with pain when the doctor inserted the needle"; "I yelled to her from the window but she couldn't hear me"

screech

verb

1. squeal, scream, shriek The car wheels screeched.

2. shriek, scream, yell, howl, call out, wail, bellow, squeal, holler, caterwaul She was screeching at them.

3. squawk A macaw screeched at him from its perch.

noun

1. cry, scream, shriek, squeal, squawk, yelp The figure gave a screech.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

screech

noun

A long, loud, piercing cry or sound:

screak, scream, shriek.

verb

To utter a long, loud, piercing cry, as of pain or fright:

screak, scream, shriek, shrill.

Translations

صَرْخَه، صَيْحَهيُطْلِقُ صَرْخَةً عالِيَه

ječetjekotskřípatskřípot

hvinhvinehylhyle

Kreischen

clameur cri percant

csikorog

skrækja; ískraskrækur; ískur

stridere stridore strillare strillo

spiegimasspiegtižviegimasžviegti

griezīga skaņagriezīgi kliegtkaucienskauktķērciens

cviliticviljenje

çığlık çığlık atmak

尖叫尖声喊叫

screech

[skriːtʃ]

A. N [of brakes, tyres] → chirrido m; [of person] → grito m; [of animal] → chillido m

B. VI [brakes, tyres] → chirriar; [person] → gritar, chillar; [animal] → chillar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

screech

[ˈskriːtʃ]

[person, animal, bird] → cri m strident, hurlement m

[tyres, brakes] → crissement m

[person, animal, bird] → pousser un hurlement

[tyres] → crisser
to screech to a halt [car] → s'arrêter dans un crissement de pneus
The car screeched to a halt → La voiture s'arrêta dans un crissement de pneus.

vt → hurlerscreech owl n

(US) → petit duc m maculé

(British) → chat-huant m

screech

n → Kreischen nt no pl; (of women, tyres, brakes also) → Quietschen nt no pl; (of owl) → Schrei m; (of whistle) → Schrillen nt no pl; the car stopped with a screech of brakes → das Auto hielt mit quietschenden Bremsen; to give a screech of anger/laughter → zornig/vor Lachen kreischen

vt → schreien; high notes → quietschen

vi → kreischen; (women, tyres, brakes also) → quietschen; to screech with pain → vor Schmerzen schreien; to screech with anger/laughter → zornig/vor Lachen kreischen; to screech with delight → vor Vergnügen quietschen; jet planes screeching over the housetops → Düsenflugzeuge, die heulend über die Hausdächer fliegen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

screech

[skriːtʃ]

1. n (of brakes, tyres) → stridio, stridore m; (of owl) → strido; (of person) → strillo
a screech of laughter → una risata stridula

2. vi (person) → strillare; (owl, brakes) → stridere

screech

(skriːtʃ) verb

to make a harsh, shrill cry, shout or noise. She screeched (abuse) at him; The car screeched to a halt.

noun

a loud, shrill cry or noise. screeches of laughter; a screech of brakes.

screech

v. chillar.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

What was the last line will never be known, for of a sudden the song was stayed by a dreadful screech from the cabin.

There was little sound to be heard but the clang of weapons, an occasional screech or splash, and Slightly monotonously counting -- five -- six -- seven -- eight -- nine --ten -- eleven.

View in context

He advanced a few paces, and caught sight of the two screech owls, that is to say, Dom Claude and Master Jacques Charmolue, absorbed in contemplation before a carving on the façade.

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And if sight alone were not sufficient, the cry of rage the intruder gave, beginning with a snarl and rushing abruptly upward into a hoarse screech, was convincing enough in itself.

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With one hand I felt above my head for the line of the steam-whistled, and jerked out screech after screech hur- riedly.

'One good screech will do more for you than all your rifles.

View in context

"Lucy, don't screech. It's a new bad habit you're getting into."

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Just then the locomotive gave a sharp screech, and the train passed out into the darkness of the night.

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In the intervals of pandemonium, each chattered, cut up, hooted, screeched, and danced, himself sufficient unto himself, filled with his own ideas and volitions to the exclusion of all others, a veritable centre of the universe, divorced for the time being from any unanimity with the other universe-centres leaping and yelling around him.

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"Now, that," declared Tip, proudly, "is really a very fine man, and it ought to frighten several screeches out of old Mombi!

View in context

Swift as I was I was none too soon, for the green warrior had been overtaken ere he had made half the distance to the forest, and now he stood with his back to a boulder, while the herd, temporarily balked, hissed and screeched about him.

View in context

When I trotted, I rattled like a crate of dishes, and that annoyed me; and moreover I couldn't seem to stand that shield slatting and banging, now about my breast, now around my back; and if I dropped into a walk my joints creaked and screeched in that wearisome way that a wheelbarrow does, and as we didn't create any breeze at that gait, I was like to get fried in that stove; and besides, the quieter you went the heavier the iron set- tled down on you and the more and more tons you seemed to weigh every minute.