screed

[skreed]

noun

1. a long discourse or essay, especially a diatribe.

2. an informal letter, account, or other piece of writing.

3. Building Trades.

   1. a strip of plaster or wood applied to a surface to be plastered to serve as a guide for making a true surface.

   2. a wooden strip serving as a guide for making a true level surface on a concrete pavement or the like.

   3. a board or metal strip dragged across a freshly poured concrete slab to give it its proper level.

4. British Dialect.,  a fragment or shred, as of cloth.

5. Scot.

   1. a tear or rip, especially in cloth.

   2. a drinking bout.

verb (used with or without object)

1. Scot.,  to tear, rip, or shred, as cloth.

screed

/ skriːd /

noun

1. a long or prolonged speech or piece of writing

2. a strip of wood, plaster, or metal placed on a surface to act as a guide to the thickness of the cement or plaster coat to be applied

3. a mixture of cement, sand, and water applied to a concrete slab, etc, to give a smooth surface finish

4. a rent or tear or the sound produced by this

Word History and Origins

Origin of screed¹

1275–1325; Middle English screde torn fragment, irregular (with sc- for sh- ) representing Old English scrēade shred

Word History and Origins

Origin of screed¹

C14: probably variant of Old English scrēade _shred

Example Sentences

Less apology than explanation, and less explanation than soul-searching screed, this novel has a huge voice, a woman’s attempt to create meaning from the depths of family trauma.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Then come the thinkpieces — and yes, you could say this very piece you’re reading isn’t exempt from that label — and the gossipy screeds.

Read more on Salon

When Stefani picks her up for their trip she’s switches out in a slack hefty bag and the type of wig Swiatkowski disparages her screed.

Read more on Salon

While reviews were largely positive, The Quietus recoiled at the lack of heavy guitar anthems in a scathing screed that employed descriptors like "unintrusive", "clunking" and "by-numbers detritus".

Read more on BBC

Despite its somewhat tendentious title and Nelson’s fuming belief that as a Latino he is seen as a loan risk, “The Other Americans” is not a dramatic screed denouncing the inequities of American culture.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• account 
• agenda 
• archive 
• ballot 
• bill 
• calendar 
• catalog 
• checklist 
• dictionary 
• directory 
• draft 
• file 
• index 
• inventory 
• lineup 
• listing 
• menu 
• poll 
• program 
• schedule