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

Or even just to have something to say, in the vein of the visceral screeds of Glassjaw, the macabre monologues of Drowningman, or the esoteric wordplay of At the Drive-In. —Chris R. Morgan, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025

For example, go back to the top paragraph of GPT’s poetic screed and read it again. —John Werner, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

His screed resonates as a credo today: Mayor Koch has stated that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts. —David Remnick, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2025

The lengthy screed made plain the younger Biden’s feelings that his father was mistreated by those around him in the waning days of his candidacy and administration. —Meg Kinnard, Chicago Tribune, 22 July 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