squealed; squealing; squeals
1
: to make a shrill cry or noise
1
: to express with or as if with a squeal
2
: to cause to make a loud shrill noise
squealing the tires
squealer
noun
: a shrill sharp cry or noise
Synonyms
Examples of squeal in a Sentence
Verb
The car squealed to a stop.
He squealed the tires and drove off.
She squealed to the teacher.
“Let me go,” she squealed.
Noun
She heard the pig's squeals.
Recent Examples on the Web
Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Beginning with a guitar riff and a squealing sound akin to a dental drill, the drummers kick into the groove and everyone settles into a jagged riff.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
Inside, the air is filled with the sound of snorting, grunting, squealing pigs and piglets.
—Rob Stein, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024
Nostalgic millennials the world over squealed when NSYNC reunited at the VMAs, but not everyone was thrilled with the timing of the boy band's return.
—Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 20 Sep. 2023
Eyewitness video posted by ABC News from the incident showed the lobby filled with smoke and debris with the sound of the car engine still running and tires squealing.
—Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024
Every intersection is a chaos of squealing trams, cars, scooters, and pedestrians, each fighting for their slice of space.
—Kristina Kasparian, Longreads, 6 Feb. 2024
The two squealed and embraced when Lizzo presented the award to her longtime friend.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 4 Feb. 2024
With a few hours to spare, Friedrich and her husband roped squealing pigs and guided distressed horses into a trailer and hauled them out.
—Gabriel San Román, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2023
Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
Listen for a squeal and know that your prank was a success!
15.
—Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 21 Mar. 2024
There are special wood duck calls tuned to make the higher squeals of wood ducks.
—Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 15 Feb. 2024
Excited squeals erupted from Quinne Schillace after spotting a clear tent Sunday with cats pawing at blankets and toys inside.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 11 Feb. 2024
Credit: Ridgway et al., 2022 Dolphin Z catching sea snakes in the Pacific Ocean with head jerks and a victory squeal.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 1 Jan. 2023
Over queasy feedback that squeals like a zombie radio signal, Brown tosses off rhetorical bicycle kicks, rhymes Cool Runnings with Good Will Hunting, and cracks wise about out-of-service McDonald’s soft serve machines.
—Pitchfork, 11 Dec. 2023
As night falls on Napa, dangling lights illuminate the ice and music supplies the backdrop to squeals of delighted skaters.
—Rebecca Deurlein, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
There were quiet moments of coloring mermaids together, and others that induced squeals of delight, such as a massive cone of vanilla gelato sheathed in rainbow sprinkles at Anita Gelato in Manly.
—Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 12 Nov. 2023
Verb
Rabid fans drowned his phrasings by shouting every lyric and squealing at every chord change.
—Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Beginning with a guitar riff and a squealing sound akin to a dental drill, the drummers kick into the groove and everyone settles into a jagged riff.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
Inside, the air is filled with the sound of snorting, grunting, squealing pigs and piglets.
—Rob Stein, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024
Nostalgic millennials the world over squealed when NSYNC reunited at the VMAs, but not everyone was thrilled with the timing of the boy band's return.
—Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 20 Sep. 2023
Eyewitness video posted by ABC News from the incident showed the lobby filled with smoke and debris with the sound of the car engine still running and tires squealing.
—Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024
Every intersection is a chaos of squealing trams, cars, scooters, and pedestrians, each fighting for their slice of space.
—Kristina Kasparian, Longreads, 6 Feb. 2024
The two squealed and embraced when Lizzo presented the award to her longtime friend.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 4 Feb. 2024
With a few hours to spare, Friedrich and her husband roped squealing pigs and guided distressed horses into a trailer and hauled them out.
—Gabriel San Román, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2023
Noun
In the video, Bronze made a cute squeal while raising his hands up as the Oregon Ducks and South Carolina Gamecocks played against each other in an NCAA game that saw the Oregon team ultimately win 87 - 73.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
Listen for a squeal and know that your prank was a success!
15.
—Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 21 Mar. 2024
There are special wood duck calls tuned to make the higher squeals of wood ducks.
—Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 15 Feb. 2024
Excited squeals erupted from Quinne Schillace after spotting a clear tent Sunday with cats pawing at blankets and toys inside.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 11 Feb. 2024
Credit: Ridgway et al., 2022 Dolphin Z catching sea snakes in the Pacific Ocean with head jerks and a victory squeal.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 1 Jan. 2023
Over queasy feedback that squeals like a zombie radio signal, Brown tosses off rhetorical bicycle kicks, rhymes Cool Runnings with Good Will Hunting, and cracks wise about out-of-service McDonald’s soft serve machines.
—Pitchfork, 11 Dec. 2023
As night falls on Napa, dangling lights illuminate the ice and music supplies the backdrop to squeals of delighted skaters.
—Rebecca Deurlein, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
There were quiet moments of coloring mermaids together, and others that induced squeals of delight, such as a massive cone of vanilla gelato sheathed in rainbow sprinkles at Anita Gelato in Manly.
—Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 12 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'squeal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English squelen, of imitative origin
First Known Use
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1747, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of squeal was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing squeal
Articles Related to squeal
Dictionary Entries Near squeal
Cite this Entry
“Squeal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squeal. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
squeal
1 of 2 verb1
: to make a long shrill cry or noise
2
a
: inform sense 2
squealed to the teacher
b
3
: to utter with or as if with a squeal
squealer
noun
squeal
2 of 2 noun
: a long shrill cry or noise
More from Merriam-Webster on squeal
Nglish: Translation of squeal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of squeal for Arabic Speakers
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