screech

noun

\ˈskrēch

Definition of screech

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a high shrill piercing cry usually expressing pain or terror

2 : a sound resembling a screech

screech

verb

screeched; screeching; screeches

Definition of screech (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

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

transitive verb

: to utter with or as if with a screech

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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: Noun

The moments immediately after the touchdown of an aircraft, where typically there will be clouds of smoke and a piercing screech will be given off on the runway, seems somewhat dramatic. — Erik Lacitis, The Seattle Times, "Looking to decorate your home? How about the nose of a Boeing 727 or a landing gear?," 29 July 2018 Read all about screech and Canada’s other attractions at http://tinyurl.com/ycfwdp8a. — Phil Marty, chicagotribune.com, "Adventures in vegan eating, a Canadian bucket list and more," 13 July 2018 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, "A transgender girl rises up against alien invaders in Rich Larson’s novel Annex," 8 July 2018 But the visualization shows the midsection buzz transforming into a more piercing screech to overcome the pump’s din. — Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, "Near Noisy Oil Fields, Lovesick Birds Change Their Tunes," 13 Mar. 2018 Houses and buildings in Dogtown are wrapped in scaffolding, and the whirring screech of power saws every morning can substitute for an alarm clock. — Otis R. Taylor Jr., San Francisco Chronicle, "In Oakland, this is gentrification when it knocks on your door," 19 Apr. 2018 Marco Beltrami’s score is fairly traditional for the genre, combining mechanical screeches with strings and a deep threatening bass. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "Sight and Silence," 11 Apr. 2018 The official sound of the 2018 Winter Olympics is quickly becoming the screech of emergency alerts on people's cellphones. — Author: Andrew Keh, Anchorage Daily News, "This is not a drill: Emergency cellphone alerts at the Winter Games become annoying," 14 Feb. 2018 Growly, subterranean pedal points and eerie screeches signal the three murders, evoked in animated silhouette by Nichols’ artfully gruesome projections. — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago Opera Theater's 'Elizabeth Cree' is a bloody good show," 11 Feb. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

For his remix, J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. waded in with — what else — a lead guitar, and later a throng of them, wailing and screeching toward a distortion supernova. — Jon Pareles, New York Times, "The Playlist: The 1975 Talk About Its Generation, and 9 More New Songs," 1 June 2018 Would any of the guys take one look at me and jump back into the limo and screech off? — Becca Kufrin, PEOPLE.com, "Why Bachelorette Becca Kufrin Gave Garrett the First Impression Rose: He's 'Clever and Charming'," 29 May 2018 Chair legs screech against it throughout the evening like fingernails on a blackboard. — Steven Stolman, Town & Country, "A Clear-Eyed Assessment of the New Four Seasons—By Someone Who Loved the Old One," 7 Sep. 2018 Back at Sea-Tac, and about an hour after screeching to a halt on the runway, the plane Schaechter was on returned to the terminal, passengers descending a mobile staircase onto the tarmac. — Matt Day, The Seattle Times, "“We were all screaming, ‘Oh my god’” : How the Horizon Air theft and crash unfolded," 12 Aug. 2018 The third movement lacked the ultimate in screeching piccolo and whooping horns. — Alan Artner, chicagotribune.com, "In the heat, Moser, Grant Park Orchestra perform a delicate Dvorak," 30 June 2018 The Californian producer and DJ built his name on a bedrock of dancehall rhythms and nasty bass screeches. — Kat Bein, Billboard, "Dillon Francis Drops Maddening 'Moombahton' Mixtape: Listen," 27 June 2018 Police spotted the vehicle in the 700 block of Waukegan Road driving at a high rate of speed with screeching tires. — Steve Sadin, chicagotribune.com, "Police: Man charged with felony DUI in Deerfield," 22 June 2018 Then another plane came screeching down the runway, and the process began again. — Julia Sclafani And Jordan Cutler-tietjen, sacbee, "Seen those tankers above Sacramento? The low-down on Cal Fire's biggest base at McClellan," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'screech.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.