squeal
Americannoun
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squeals
plural
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a somewhat prolonged, sharp, shrill cry, as of pain, fear, or surprise.
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Slang.
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an instance of informing against someone.
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a protest or complaint; beef.
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verb (used without object)
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squeals,
present (3rd person singular)
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squealed,
past participle, past
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squealing
present participle
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to utter or emit a squeal or squealing sound.
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Slang.
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to turn informer; inform.
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to protest or complain; beef.
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verb (used with object)
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squeals,
present (3rd person singular)
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squealed,
past participle, past
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squealing
present participle
noun
-
a high shrill yelp, as of pain
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a screaming sound, as of tyres when a car brakes suddenly
verb
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to utter a squeal or with a squeal
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slang (intr) to confess information about another
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informal (intr) to complain or protest loudly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squealsimple
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squealssimple
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have squealedperfect
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has squealedperfect
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am squealingprogressive
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are squealingprogressive
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is squealingprogressive
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have been squealingperfect progressive
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has been squealingperfect progressive
Past
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squealedsimple
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had squealedperfect
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was squealingprogressive
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were squealingprogressive
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had been squealingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of squeal
1250–1300; Middle English squelen; imitative
Explanation
To squeal is to make a sharp, high-pitched cry, the way a piglet squeals or the excited way your little sister will squeal when she sees the huge birthday cake you made for her. Grab a piglet by the tail and you'll hear a squeal. You can also bring a bunch of puppies to a kindergarten class to hear a lot of kids squeal in delight. Squeal is an imitative word, one that came from the sound it describes, similar to skvala, or "cry out" in Old Norse, and the English squall, "to cry out loudly."
Vocabulary lists containing squeal
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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.
See Examples For:
And as “Blow Out” reminds us, all it takes to be pulled into this vicious riptide is the squeal of a shot-out tire skidding against the asphalt.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
When they get their money, they run madly for the exits, bowling over anyone in their path, and they squeal away in their cars, leaving tire tracks on the road.
From Slate ● Nov. 15, 2025
The word “try” is banned—if a student says it, Lee lets out a squeal so loud that the teaching assistant on the other side of the wall can hear it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025
Katherine LaNasa’s radiant smile is contagious enough, but when she let out that girlish squeal after a clearly unexpected victory, I felt her excitement in my bones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2025
Tanisha starts clapping hard, adding in a little squeal and a jump.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
Sufferers have described symptoms such as hearing a low hum, clicks, squeals and "grinding metal" while others reported intense pressure on the skull, dizziness and nausea.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The squeals from the crowd take us back to the 1940s, but the quality of the music itself is timeless.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025
In the audience, 130-odd children, ages 8 to 10, let loose squeals, some gasps, and one “it’s not real.”
From New York Times ● May 13, 2024
The sharp fuss of grown-ups, issued from porches at the rowdy barefoot yarding of neighborhood kids, rises over the chatter of rocking chairs, to contend with manic squeals and out-of-breath laughter.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
The karaoke microphone squeals in protest as Ren yells an off-key note into it.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
This morning, I actually squealed when the library emailed to say my hold on “The Wind in the Willows”—a book I first read in sixth grade—was ready for pickup.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Leanne squealed and thanked Jake "for not letting me down".
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2025
“Animal organs, ground up!” one guest squealed, crinkling his nose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2024
She squealed loudly, dropped the phone receiver, and did a little dance like she had won the lottery.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2023
“Ruby, protect me!” he squealed in exaggerated high notes.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
“Hey, come here, piggy piggy, come here, baby,” he said in one TikTok video, his bike brakes squealing as he reverses direction to catch up with the pink, fuzzy fugitive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Another gawked in horror as a squealing toddler tore through the store while their mom examined the chocolate moon rocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
The expedient is to search for places where you can raise money with a minimum of squealing.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2024
Further along, Alabsi passes a man dancing in the middle of the street with his arms in the air as a squealing firetruck races by.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2024
The hog jumped off James and ran away into the woods, still squealing.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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.
