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
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.
The Squeal Award got its name from Ms. Ernst’s 2014 campaign video where she said she grew up on a farm castrating pigs, and vowed to make Washington’s big-spenders shriek the same way.
From Washington Times • Jun. 29, 2022
Squeal: Pigs fleeing the North Bay fires found some refuge in Half Moon Bay.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2017
Before that, Ms. Lang was studying theater and attending auditions and helped start a comedy troupe called Squeal Like a Pig.
From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2016
The Joint, for instance, offers both ribs and locally made Chaurice sausage, while Squeal is renowned its sauce and barbecue duck legs.
From Time • Jun. 8, 2015
Peal more proudly, Squeal more loudly, Ye cymbals, ye trumpets!
From The Uncollected Writings of Thomas de Quincey, Vol. 2 With a Preface and Annotations by James Hogg by Hogg, James
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.
