squeak
Americannoun
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a short, sharp, shrill cry; a sharp, high-pitched sound.
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Informal. opportunity; chance.
their last squeak to correct the manuscript.
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an escape from defeat, danger, death, or destruction (usually qualified by narrow orclose ).
verb (used without object)
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to utter or emit a squeak or squeaky sound.
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Slang. to confess or turn informer; squeal.
verb (used with object)
verb phrase
noun
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a short shrill cry or high-pitched sound
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informal an escape (esp in the phrases narrow squeak , near squeak )
verb
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to make or cause to make a squeak
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(intr; usually foll by through or by) to pass with only a narrow margin
to squeak through an examination
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informal (intr) to confess information about oneself or another
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(tr) to utter with a squeak
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squeaksimple
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squeakssimple
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have squeakedperfect
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has squeakedperfect
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are squeakingprogressive
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am squeakingprogressive
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is squeakingprogressive
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have been squeakingperfect progressive
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has been squeakingperfect progressive
Past
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squeakedsimple
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had squeakedperfect
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was squeakingprogressive
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were squeakingprogressive
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had been squeakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of squeak
1350–1400; Middle English squeken, perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Swedish skväka to croak
Explanation
To squeak is to make a high, short sound. Your hungry pet mice squeak for food, and your creaky old wood floors squeak when you walk across them. A door with rusty hinges will squeak when you open it, and your own voice may squeak when you're nervous. There are also the squeaks that small animals make, and the squeak that means "any communication," like when you don't hear a squeak from your next door neighbor for so long you wonder if he moved away. Informally, to "squeak by" or "squeak through" means to just barely achieve something, by a narrow margin.
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.
And if you're wondering what happened to Pip and Squeak, there is a happy ending.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2025
The collection, which featured prominent artists such as Sol LeWitt, Robert Arneson and Squeak Carnwath, became too large for the family to display.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2022
Even better, we were able to coax the almost psychedelically colored fish from their resting spots among root wads and downed branches with flies imitating small mice, particularly a pattern called the Pip Squeak.
From Washington Post • Sep. 16, 2021
Today’s book is a treat: "Squeak, Rumble, Whomp Whomp Whomp!"
From Fox News • Apr. 3, 2020
That was fifteen years ago, say Squeak, he ain’t gonna remember that.
From "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
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.
