squeal
Americannoun
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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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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)
noun
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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:
They squeal in delight and run back to the line to wait for another turn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
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
They throw their hands up and squeal, and there I am, smiling on the inside.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
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
"You literally have tissues with you? I'm so impressed," Rapp squeals...
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2025
We sat at a picnic table; the squeals of children released to the joys of summer carried in the warm Alabama air.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2024
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 opossum squeals and flops onto its side.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
A chocolate brown Great Dane puppy with blue eyes and a teal collar sitting on a tile floor gazed at me from my computer screen — I squealed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Leanne squealed and thanked Jake "for not letting me down".
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2025
Children laughed, running laps around toddlers who squealed with delight.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2023
She squealed loudly, dropped the phone receiver, and did a little dance like she had won the lottery.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2023
The buzzer went off ending the girls' game and the voice of the manager squealed out for the team to take the court.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Since then, he’s been standing at the edge of the property squealing and crying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
The farmers and miners got to hear the most intoxicating music on Earth from brassy cornet players and driving saxophonists, exotic trombone mutes, squealing trumpets and sultry clarinets.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024
But instead the concrete loading bays are alive with the sound of squealing tyres and popping engines as cars race past spectators lining a makeshift drag strip.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2024
“It goes fast, you can hear the tires squealing and smell the brakes, but you’re not burning any fuel or making any noise. You and I could have a conversation going around the track.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
Meanwhile the girl’s friends were squealing and pressing into her.
From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
