screech
Americanverb (used without object)
-
screeches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
screeched,
past participle, past
-
screeching
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
screeches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
screeched,
past participle, past
-
screeching
present participle
noun
-
screeches
plural
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Pigman
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Because of Winn-Dixie
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
In fact, any birder will tell you that the sky-rending screech that accompanies bald eagles in most media depictions actually belongs to a red-tailed hawk.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
Pareja then saw the housing market screech to a halt during the Great Recession, a crisis in which subprime mortgages were a central cause.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2025
The screech of tablesaws and popping of nail guns break up the silence in the fire-hollowed corners of these neighborhoods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025
She heard the car suddenly screech and the vehicle head towards the nearby home Mr Ferns shared with his mother Phyliss, where it stopped.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2025
She listened for the grating chug of the wheels and metal-on-metal screech of the brakes as the train rounded each curve, but it was still too far away.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
I know of a nurse in San Francisco who screeches her car to a stop when she spots a person in bodily distress and administers CPR if appropriate.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
China’s own export-led recovery screeches to a halt if importing nations are in recession or depression thanks to the Hormuz shutdown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
A shriek broke the dawn on the savannah, followed by more screeches and the rustle of branches: The wild Fongoli chimps were bidding each other good morning in the dry, scraggly Sahel.
From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026
A few distant screeches of brooms on cobblestone, that’s all.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
A white Tahoe screeches to a stop on the other side of the fence.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Transport across the island, which was already reeling from the worst economic crisis in memory, has screeched to a near halt as petrol pumps run dry.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Live events screeched to a halt during the Covid-19 pandemic but bounced back coming out of it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
In the 1970s, she observed a stratification between groups of chimpanzees at a national park in Tanzania, with increasing aggression as males screeched and threw objects.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
In the media room at the city of Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center in downtown Los Angeles, phones of elected officials, staffers and a handful of reporters screeched in unison.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
Ours was a baby blue Pontiac Trans Am, which flew past, then screeched to a stop on the shoulder a hundred yards or so down the road, in a cloud of gravelly dust.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
The concern among many observers is that Fedorov's departure will bring his ambitious reform and innovation programme to a screeching halt, despite Zelensky's assurances that nothing will change.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The kitchen sinks aren’t working, and the plumbing is simultaneously screeching and groaning.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
The idea to launch a podcast began during the pandemic, when touring — and the world — came to a screeching halt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
The parallels to contemporary American culture are obvious if not literal, but Ms. Ziegler is too gifted a playwright to shrink a nuanced tragedy into a screeching protest sign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
The door opened behind them, the screen screeching a striking impression of TJ's voice.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
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.
