screed

noun

ˈskrēd 

1

a

: a lengthy discourse

b

: an informal piece of writing (such as a personal letter)

c

: a ranting piece of writing

2

: a strip (as of a plaster of the thickness planned for the coat) laid on as a guide

3

: a leveling device drawn over freshly poured concrete

Examples of screed in a Sentence

In her screed against the recording industry, she blamed her producer for ruining her career.

Recent Examples on the Web

One texted me a morning screed. —Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025

Once all is shrieked and done, though, what’s left is a faux-prestige screed that’s 100 percent #OhHellNo! —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025

Other times, Ron is a terminally online Larry, typing screeds into customer support forms and cursing out chatbots. —Judy Berman, Time, 9 Oct. 2025

The writer has even used her personal funds (a fortune largely amassed via Harry Potter) to create an organization dedicated to offering legal funding for cis women trying to sue trans people, in addition to frequently publishing anti-trans screeds on social media. —James Factora, Them., 23 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English screde fragment, alteration of Old English scrēade — more at shred entry 1

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for screed

• bead
• bleed
• brede
• breed
• cede
• creed
• deed
• feed
• freed
• greed
• heed
• keyed