1
: a high shrill piercing cry usually expressing pain or terror
2
: a sound resembling a screech
screeched; screeching; screeches
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
: to utter with or as if with a screech
screecher
noun
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
Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
Listening can feel like stumbling through a landscape that is both brutal and stunning, comprising raga drone and haunted violin screeches as well as beautifully woozy stoner rock and idyllic birdsong, all colliding into unexpected forms.
—David Glickman, Pitchfork, 14 Jan. 2026
Tribune News Service, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2026
Somewhere along this conversation, Meredith says that Heather has been screeching at her for two months, which makes Heather completely blow up, telling her that their friendship is over.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for screech
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Noun
Spread over him and shoved him forward, and he was woken by a screech and a howl.
—Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
Listening can feel like stumbling through a landscape that is both brutal and stunning, comprising raga drone and haunted violin screeches as well as beautifully woozy stoner rock and idyllic birdsong, all colliding into unexpected forms.
—David Glickman, Pitchfork, 14 Jan. 2026
Verb
By Jason Mackey Pittsburgh Post-Gazette PALM BEACH GARDENS — The pop of a catcher’s mitt mixed with saws screeching and hammers pounding provides an appropriate soundtrack inside Paul Skenes’ offseason workout facility, a baseball-lover’s paradise and an encapsulation of his unique personality.
—Tribune News Service, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2026
Somewhere along this conversation, Meredith says that Heather has been screeching at her for two months, which makes Heather completely blow up, telling her that their friendship is over.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for screech
Cite this Entry
“Screech.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screech. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
screech
1 of 2 noun1
: a shrill harsh cry usually expressing pain or terror
2
: a sound like a screech
the screech of brakes
screech
2 of 2 verb1
: to cry out usually in terror or pain
2
: to make a sound like a screech
the car screeched to a halt
screecher
noun
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