screech
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See scream.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
screechsimple
-
screechessimple
-
have screechedperfect
-
has screechedperfect
-
am screechingprogressive
-
are screechingprogressive
-
is screechingprogressive
-
have been screechingperfect progressive
-
has been screechingperfect progressive
Past
-
screechedsimple
-
had screechedperfect
-
was screechingprogressive
-
were screechingprogressive
-
had been screechingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of screech
First recorded in 1550–60; variant of obsolete scritch “to scream”; akin to screak
Explanation
To screech is to make a piercing, high-pitched sound. It can also be the sound itself. Want to hear a screech? Take a little kid’s lollipop away. A screech is another word for a scream, shriek, or cry. It’s not fun to listen to. If a woman in a horror movie finds a bad guy in her closet, she’ll probably screech. If you surprise someone in the middle of the night, expect a screech. Things can also screech, like when a car screeches to a sudden stop at a red light.
Vocabulary lists containing screech
"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
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The Pigman
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“A culture that venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters,’ will not produce the best engineers.”
From Salon • Dec. 27, 2024
The 83-year-old then walked in front of the mound and tossed a pitch that Screech, the Nationals’ bald eagle mascot, caught in front of the plate.
From Washington Times • Jun. 6, 2023
What may be the most incongruously funny musical cue in “Beef” arrives a few minutes into the pilot episode, “The Birds Don’t Sing, They Screech in Pain.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2023
Before being called “the Howling Marine,” McAllister was known as “the Human Screech Owl.”
From Washington Post • Nov. 26, 2022
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
