squeaky
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of squeaky
Explanation
If your voice is squeaky, it's high and a little shrill, like a cartoon character. If your shoes sound squeaky when you walk, you'll never be able to sneak up on someone. It's hard for people to take you seriously if you always sound a little squeaky when you talk. Squishy, noise-making dog toys are squeaky, and so is Mickey Mouse's voice, as well as the rusty hinge on an old treasure chest. If something's squeaky clean, it's so immaculate that it squeaks a little — this phrase probably started in the 1970s in advertisements for dishwashing soap.
Vocabulary lists containing squeaky
"Raymond's Run"
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Fish in a Tree
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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.
But it did not take long for the shine to come off Sir Keir's squeaky clean image.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
“These City Council people placated to the squeaky wheels,” Brandhorst said after the council hearing.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026
Credit funds are definitely the squeaky wheel of the private-asset industry right now.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
Otherwise, our users call every other day to be the squeaky wheel,” he says.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026
Mr. Woodwell may be halfway deaf, but a squeaky door will get inside your sleep.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
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.
