screeching

American  

[skree-ching] / ˈskri tʃɪŋ /

adjective

1. causing or uttering screeches.

   screeching bats.

2. characteristic of screeches; harshly shrill.

   a screeching tone.

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noun

1. the act or sound of a person or thing that screeches.

Other Word Forms

• screechingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of screeching

First recorded in 1610–20; screech + -ing ², -ing ¹

Example Sentences

It was a shrill and hideous sound: metal screeching on metal.

From Literature

He closes the door and starts down the screeching staircase.

From Literature

What was left of the Evans house?—and there was an awful screeching sound.

From Literature

There are screeching sounds and thumping sounds, and then my dark box heaves itself up and I am thrown into the walls.

From Literature

A screeching howl goes off inside the water park.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bitter
• bleak
• grim
• hard
• rigid
• severe
• sharp
• strident