screech

American  

[skreech] / skritʃ /

verb (used without object)

1. to utter or make a harsh, shrill cry or sound.

   The child screeched hysterically. The brakes screeched.

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verb (used with object)

1. to utter with a screech.

   She screeched her warning.

noun

1. a harsh, shrill cry or sound.

   an owl's screech; the screech of brakes.

screech ¹ British  

/ skriːtʃ /

noun

1. a shrill, harsh, or high-pitched sound or cry

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verb

1. to utter with or produce a screech

screech ² British  

/ skriːtʃ /

noun

1. (esp in Newfoundland) a dark rum

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Related Words

See scream.

Other Word Forms

• screecher noun

Etymology

Origin of screech

First recorded in 1550–60; variant of obsolete scritch “to scream”; akin to screak

Example Sentences

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

The day after high school graduation, Dolly boarded the first bus for Nashville, where record producers said she sounded like a screech owl and was too country to sing country music.

From Salon • Jan. 19, 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

The screech of tablesaws and popping of nail guns break up the silence in the fire-hollowed corners of these neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2025

It was not coming from the tank but from coworker Ryan, who, although he could not speak, let out an enormous screech, the first sound anyone at the railroad had ever heard from him.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• howl
• shout
• shriek
• squeal
• yell