scream
Americanverb (used without object)
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screams,
present (3rd person singular)
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screamed,
past participle, past
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screaming
present participle
-
to utter a loud, sharp, piercing cry.
-
to emit a shrill, piercing sound.
The sirens and whistles screamed.
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to laugh immoderately or uncontrollably.
The comedian had the audience screaming.
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to shout or speak shrilly, especially with harsh or exaggerated words.
They screamed across the back fence.
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to play or sing in a high, loud, harsh manner.
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to be conspicuous or startling.
That red dress really screams.
verb (used with object)
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screams,
present (3rd person singular)
-
screamed,
past participle, past
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screaming
present participle
-
to utter with or as if with a loud, piercing cry.
His patience exhausted, he screamed the instructions to the class.
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to bring (oneself) to a specified condition by loud and shrill shouts or cries.
We screamed ourselves hoarse at the concert.
verb
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to utter or emit (a sharp piercing cry or similar sound or sounds), esp as of fear, pain, etc
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(intr) to laugh wildly
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(intr) to speak, shout, or behave in a wild or impassioned manner
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(tr) to bring (oneself) into a specified state by screaming
she screamed herself hoarse
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(intr) to be extremely conspicuous
these orange curtains scream, you need more restful colours in a bedroom
noun
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a sharp piercing cry or sound, esp one denoting fear or pain
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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
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screamsimple
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screamssimple
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have screamedperfect
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has screamedperfect
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am screamingprogressive
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are screamingprogressive
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is screamingprogressive
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have been screamingperfect progressive
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has been screamingperfect progressive
Past
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screamedsimple
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had screamedperfect
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was screamingprogressive
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were screamingprogressive
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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:
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
He had never been in a serious relationship and his laid-back vibe didn’t scream committed or emotionally available.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
A scream, said county officials, is considered operational noise, and decibel levels should hover somewhere around 50 dBa during peak hours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Even now, she says: "These feelings, emotions, they are still frozen in me… sometimes I really want to cry and scream, but I can't."
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
This brought on an even louder scream, one that, in his frustration, he didn’t bother holding back.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
“Outer Banks” is aggressively meh, and there’s not much else that screams to be watched this month.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
In one sense, it screams Seven Deadly Sins—he gave in to his pride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
For residents, there’s panic as to what, if any, recourse they may have at this late stage, with one man joking he may forever have to blast loud music all day to mask rider screams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Tied to the mast of his ship as he and his crew pass the singing sirens, adorned on the jagged rocks at sea, Odysseus screams out with pain and desire.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
At Fifty-Ninth Street, a mother wheeled in a stroller with twins emitting, it seemed to my ears, identically pitched screams.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
She said she climbed onto the car and screamed for her husband and children.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
The man in front of us dropped to his knees, threw his hands to the sky, and screamed that he never thought he would live to see his country score in a World Cup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Related: ‘I’ve yelled, screamed and cried’: My mother gave $400K to online scammers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Somebody else might have made a stand, kicked and screamed, said, “If they go, I go. ”
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
She reached out for him, screamed his name into the word-stealing wind, but he was gone.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
They’re blindly screaming their heads off, bolstered by the person who stopped molding herself in someone else’s image, who refused to cater to how the world or the industry thought she should appear.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Then the guitar took two screaming solos. I just thought, ‘This is where I belong.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
A man who lived in the neighborhood, Sean Stanek, would recall a pale, “whacked-out” Blake pounding on his door and screaming, “You’ve gotta help me!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
He seemed boggled at how a candidate with thousands of people screaming for him could be deemed the less electable one.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Clare sprang toward the river, joining the screaming children.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
