screech
Americanverb (used without object)
-
screeches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
screeched,
past participle, past
-
screeching
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
screeches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
screeched,
past participle, past
-
screeching
present participle
noun
-
screeches
plural
noun
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See scream.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
screechsimple
-
screechessimple
-
have screechedperfect
-
has screechedperfect
-
am screechingprogressive
-
are screechingprogressive
-
is screechingprogressive
-
have been screechingperfect progressive
-
has been screechingperfect progressive
Past
-
screechedsimple
-
had screechedperfect
-
was screechingprogressive
-
were screechingprogressive
-
had been screechingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of screech
First recorded in 1550–60; variant of obsolete scritch “to scream”; akin to screak
Explanation
To screech is to make a piercing, high-pitched sound. It can also be the sound itself. Want to hear a screech? Take a little kid’s lollipop away. A screech is another word for a scream, shriek, or cry. It’s not fun to listen to. If a woman in a horror movie finds a bad guy in her closet, she’ll probably screech. If you surprise someone in the middle of the night, expect a screech. Things can also screech, like when a car screeches to a sudden stop at a red light.
Vocabulary lists containing screech
"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
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The Pigman
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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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:
But it’s important to note that “Possession” is a two-hander; Adjani’s performance needs Neill’s to sing, or perhaps, screech.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
In fact, any birder will tell you that the sky-rending screech that accompanies bald eagles in most media depictions actually belongs to a red-tailed hawk.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
Pareja then saw the housing market screech to a halt during the Great Recession, a crisis in which subprime mortgages were a central cause.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2025
Nail guns tat-tat-tat and chain saws screech on almost every block.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
There was the smell of diesel, and the screech of air brakes, and the big engine of the bus echoing off the cement walls and ceiling.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
Brown kiwis have been reintroduced to a “newly stoat-free Wellington suburb,” where residents now awaken every morning to the screeches and songs of native parrots, pigeons and tuis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
A shriek broke the dawn on the savannah, followed by more screeches and the rustle of branches: The wild Fongoli chimps were bidding each other good morning in the dry, scraggly Sahel.
From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026
A few distant screeches of brooms on cobblestone, that’s all.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
Calakmul Biosphere Reserve on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula—The mother bat screeches furiously as Rodrigo Medellín Legorreta grips her, a thumb under her chin to prevent her razor-sharp teeth from sinking into his gloved hand.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 11, 2023
I was disgusted by the piles of dirty diapers, the snotty noses, and the screeches of children vying for any sort of attention.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Transport across the island, which was already reeling from the worst economic crisis in memory, has screeched to a near halt as petrol pumps run dry.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Live events screeched to a halt during the Covid-19 pandemic but bounced back coming out of it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
In the 1970s, she observed a stratification between groups of chimpanzees at a national park in Tanzania, with increasing aggression as males screeched and threw objects.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
On Thursday, mangled metal screeched as an excavator compacted the skeletons of former homes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
He looks like he’s struggling to say what he wants to, like all the words racing through his mind have just screeched to a halt on the tip of his tongue.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Instead, wielding my noise-canceling earbuds, Odysseus-like, I plan to smother this screeching sound to preserve my sanity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
The kitchen sinks aren’t working, and the plumbing is simultaneously screeching and groaning.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
That came to a screeching halt after Zscaler on May 26 beat Wall Street’s expectations with its fiscal 2026 third-quarter earnings but reported sales guidance that came in light.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
As China hit back with tariffs of its own, the tit-for-tat exchange sent tariff rates spiralling into the triple digits and for a few weeks brought trade between the two giants to a screeching halt.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
His hissing and screeching sounded like demons to Beetle, and she covered her ears.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
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.
