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.

---

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

---

verb

1. to utter with or produce a screech

screech ² British  

/ skriːtʃ /

noun

1. (esp in Newfoundland) a dark rum

---

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

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

She heard the car suddenly screech and the vehicle head towards the nearby home Mr Ferns shared with his mother Phyliss, where it stopped.

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2025

Life doesn’t screech to a halt after a Pollyanna rom-com ending, just like love isn’t cast in amber, destined to be preserved forever.

From Salon • Jun. 14, 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

Related Words

• howl
• shout
• shriek
• squeal
• yell