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
Synonyms
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
Zoë Dare Hall, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
That’s where Fairfield’s mixes came in, allowing the dragons to chirp, screech, sigh, sing, or laugh.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2024
Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024
In the wake of the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, local crew members and creatives described an anemic return to production as major companies sought to slash costs and the era of Peak TV came to a screeching halt.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for screech 
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Noun
Now imagine the screech of a needle being dragged across vinyl, then swivel 180 degrees to think of the exact opposite.
—Zoë Dare Hall, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
That’s where Fairfield’s mixes came in, allowing the dragons to chirp, screech, sigh, sing, or laugh.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2024
Verb
But during a visit to Auschwitz together, his memories rush in—aided, in a common Holocaust-film trope, by a flashback, this one aural (barking dogs and screeching trains)—and his emotional opening-up begins.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024
In the wake of the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, local crew members and creatives described an anemic return to production as major companies sought to slash costs and the era of Peak TV came to a screeching halt.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for screech
Articles Related to screech
Dictionary Entries Near screech
Cite this Entry
“Screech.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screech. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
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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