screed

American  

[skreed] / skrid /

noun

1. a long discourse or essay, especially a diatribe.

2. an informal letter, account, or other piece of writing.

3. Building Trades.

   1. a strip of plaster or wood applied to a surface to be plastered to serve as a guide for making a true surface.

   2. a wooden strip serving as a guide for making a true level surface on a concrete pavement or the like.

   3. a board or metal strip dragged across a freshly poured concrete slab to give it its proper level.

4. British Dialect. a fragment or shred, as of cloth.

5. Scot.

   1. a tear or rip, especially in cloth.

   2. a drinking bout.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. Scot. to tear, rip, or shred, as cloth.

screed British  

/ skriːd /

noun

1. a long or prolonged speech or piece of writing

2. a strip of wood, plaster, or metal placed on a surface to act as a guide to the thickness of the cement or plaster coat to be applied

3. a mixture of cement, sand, and water applied to a concrete slab, etc, to give a smooth surface finish

4. a rent or tear or the sound produced by this

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Etymology

Origin of screed

1275–1325; Middle English screde torn fragment, irregular (with sc- for sh- ) representing Old English scrēade shred

Explanation

A screed is a long, boring speech or piece of writing with a bad attitude, like a rant. If you’ve had enough and you’re not going to take it anymore, go ahead and write an angry screed. You can also call a screed a "harangue" or a "tirade." Another totally separate meaning of the word is “a construction tool made of wood or plaster that acts as a guide for the thickness of new plaster.” Screed originally meant "strip of cloth," like the kind you might write a long list on in the old days. Still, if you’re speaking or writing a screed, it’s like you’re reading a long tedious list.

Example Sentences

Kino’s hypocrisy stems from the same swamp as the original’s fictitious Dr. Gröss, whose lurid footage climaxed with a tsk-tsking screed against poverty, pollution and fascism as major contributors to the global death toll.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

“Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion—which only puts our warriors in danger.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

"Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger," he wrote, singling out Kelly as the only one of the six who is still subject to the UCMJ.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025

The whole screed reads like a lament of enshittification, without using the term or even nodding to Cory Doctorow’s theories.

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2025

“Did you read the screed that told of his crime? “I don’t know my letters, sir.”

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

Related Words

• account
• agenda
• archive
• ballot
• bill
• calendar
• catalog
• checklist
• dictionary
• directory
• draft
• file
• index
• inventory
• lineup
• listing
• menu
• poll
• program
• schedule