screeching

[skree-ching]

adjective

1. causing or uttering screeches.

   screeching bats.

2. characteristic of screeches; harshly shrill.

   a screeching tone.

noun

1. the act or sound of a person or thing that screeches.

Other Word Forms

• screechingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of screeching¹

First recorded in 1610–20; screech + -ing ², -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The teams returned all at once, noisy and punctual as the trains of the London and North West Railway screeching into Euston Station during the morning rush hour.

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But as most of the conference schools appeared close to approving the deal, pushback by the University of Michigan instead brought it to a screeching halt.

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They were screeching and soaring and nesting on the hillsides.

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The extraordinary scene with the medium in “Rashomon” stems directly from Noh, with the voice of the dead nobleman distorted into a screeching, growling outburst.

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The sounds of roaring engines, screeching tyres and cracking exhaust pipes are often heard tearing through streets surrounding the Croydon Road Tesco store, as car lovers meet there to show off their wheels.

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Related Words

• bitter 
• bleak 
• grim 
• hard 
• rigid 
• severe 
• sharp 
• strident