scream
Americanverb (used without object)
-
screams,
present (3rd person singular)
-
screamed,
past participle, past
-
screaming
present participle
-
to utter a loud, sharp, piercing cry.
-
to emit a shrill, piercing sound.
The sirens and whistles screamed.
-
to laugh immoderately or uncontrollably.
The comedian had the audience screaming.
-
to shout or speak shrilly, especially with harsh or exaggerated words.
They screamed across the back fence.
-
to play or sing in a high, loud, harsh manner.
-
to be conspicuous or startling.
That red dress really screams.
verb (used with object)
-
screams,
present (3rd person singular)
-
screamed,
past participle, past
-
screaming
present participle
-
to utter with or as if with a loud, piercing cry.
His patience exhausted, he screamed the instructions to the class.
-
to bring (oneself) to a specified condition by loud and shrill shouts or cries.
We screamed ourselves hoarse at the concert.
verb
-
to utter or emit (a sharp piercing cry or similar sound or sounds), esp as of fear, pain, etc
-
(intr) to laugh wildly
-
(intr) to speak, shout, or behave in a wild or impassioned manner
-
(tr) to bring (oneself) into a specified state by screaming
she screamed herself hoarse
-
(intr) to be extremely conspicuous
these orange curtains scream, you need more restful colours in a bedroom
noun
-
a sharp piercing cry or sound, esp one denoting fear or pain
-
informal a person or thing that causes great amusement
Synonym Usage
Scream, shriek, screech apply to crying out in a loud, piercing way. To scream is to utter a loud, piercing cry, especially of pain, fear, anger, or excitement: to scream with terror. The word is used also for a little, barely audible cry given by one who is startled. Shriek usually refers to a sharper and briefer cry than scream; when caused by fear or pain, it is often indicative of more terror or distress; shriek is also used for shrill uncontrolled cries: to shriek with laughter. Screech emphasizes disagreeable shrillness and harshness, often with a connotation of lack of dignity: to screech approval at a rock concert.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
screamsimple
-
screamssimple
-
have screamedperfect
-
has screamedperfect
-
am screamingprogressive
-
are screamingprogressive
-
is screamingprogressive
-
have been screamingperfect progressive
-
has been screamingperfect progressive
Past
-
screamedsimple
-
had screamedperfect
-
was screamingprogressive
-
were screamingprogressive
-
had been screamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scream
First recorded in 1150–1200; 1905–10 scream for def. 11; Middle English screamen (verb), (unattested) Old English scrǣman; akin to Old Norse skraumi “chatterbox, braggart,” skruma “to jabber”; sc- (for regular sh- as in Middle English shreame ) from obsolete scritch “to screech” ( see screech
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:
And Thatcher’s other film roles in 2023’s “The Boogeyman” and a bit part in the following year’s “MaXXXine” certainly don’t help Hollywood’s perception of her as a wannabe scream queen.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Once it gets going, “Oak Street” makes the audience squirm, scream and laugh for nearly an hour, and I had a great time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Fabi would scream, “Yo, it’d be dope at a little higher tempo!” and we’d push it from there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Zhang Xue wept with joy and furiously waved a Chinese flag as he watched his company's superbike scream across the finish line four seconds ahead of competitors in only its third world championship race.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
I head down the dirt road—now complete with no ruts or potholes thanks to me and Zach—when there’s a scream.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
“Nothing in the current outlook screams massive incremental power-burn demand.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Even a teaser from “The Bluey Movie” elicited screams from the largely adult audience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Outer Banks” is aggressively meh, and there’s not much else that screams to be watched this month.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
A colleague rushed to help and described Williams' screams as "gut-wrenching".
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
On the afternoon their invitation arrived, the air was rent by the Upstairs Cranstons’ screams, echoing along the corridor and far out to sea.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
“Grown-ups gave me positive attention when—as an actor—I failed, got sick, screamed and cried, killed, grieved and suffered,” she wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Related: ‘I’ve yelled, screamed and cried’: My mother gave $400K to online scammers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
"UTV! VTID" they screamed alongside a red love heart and the muscular arm emoji.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Somebody else might have made a stand, kicked and screamed, said, “If they go, I go. ”
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Taking a silver coach's whistle from her lips, she screamed, "Mary Lou, I found Jeremy. He's over this way."
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Fall activities are just around the corner, so Jason Gay is celebrating the youth sports parents—those who don’t resort to screaming at teen refs or fistfighting in the parking lot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
And that assumes you have the stomach to buy when the headlines are screaming that things are about to get worse.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Children in school uniforms are then seen screaming and rushing for an exit.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Rachel Heath said the train was "bumping up and down and then jostling from side to side like a seesaw", with everyone around her screaming.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Boaz should have, by all accounts, run out of the theater screaming.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
