squelch

American  

[skwelch] / skwɛltʃ /

verb (used with object)

• squelches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• squelched,
  past participle,  past
• squelching
  present participle

1. to strike or press with crushing force; crush down; squash.

2. to put down, suppress, or silence, as with a crushing retort or argument.

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verb (used without object)

• squelches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• squelched,
  past participle,  past
• squelching
  present participle

1. to make a splashing sound.

2. to tread heavily in water, mud, wet shoes, etc., with such a sound.

noun

1. a squelched or crushed mass of anything.

2. a splashing sound.

3. an act of squelching or suppressing, as by a crushing retort or argument.

4. Also called noise suppressor, squelch circuit. Electronics. a circuit in a receiver, as a radio receiver, that automatically reduces or eliminates noise when the receiver is tuned to a frequency at which virtually no carrier wave occurs.

squelch British  

/ skwɛltʃ /

verb

1. (intr) to walk laboriously through soft wet material or with wet shoes, making a sucking noise

2. (intr) to make such a noise

3. (tr) to crush completely; squash

4. informal (tr) to silence, as by a crushing retort

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noun

1. a squelching sound

2. something that has been squelched

3. electronics a circuit that cuts off the audio-frequency amplifier of a radio receiver in the absence of an input signal, in order to suppress background noise

4. informal a crushing remark

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• squelcher
  noun
• squelchingness
  noun
• squelching
  adjective
• squelchy
  adjective
• unsquelched
  adjective
• squelchingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• squelching
  present
• squelched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• squelch
  simple
• squelches
  simple
• have squelched
  perfect
• has squelched
  perfect
• am squelching
  progressive
• are squelching
  progressive
• is squelching
  progressive
• have been squelching
  perfect progressive
• has been squelching
  perfect progressive

Past

• squelched
  simple
• had squelched
  perfect
• was squelching
  progressive
• were squelching
  progressive
• had been squelching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will squelch
  simple
• will have squelched
  perfect
• will be squelching
  progressive
• will have been squelching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of squelch

1610–20; variant of quelch in same sense (perhaps blend of quell and quash ); initial s perhaps from squash ¹

Explanation

When you squelch something, you're putting an end to it. You can squelch an idea or a rebellion. This word has several meanings, but it's usually a verb for crushing things. A mean remark could squelch your self-confidence, and a powerful military could squelch an invading country. Squelching can also mean to make a squelch-like sucking sound — or to slop, slosh, splash, and squish through the mud. There's also a type of electric circuit that cuts off when the signal is weak: that's a squelch circuit, which squelches the connection.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

squelch squelches squelched squelching

As Ajoy and Onishi explained, they instead squelch their doubts and fall in line.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026

When the economy is overheating, bond yields will rise, which will slow the economy and squelch the threat of higher inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Louise Grillmair, similarly, says that - while her husband "would laugh" at speculation that the deaths might be connected - he would also "probably talk statistically" to squelch conspiracies.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

It’s an agreeably heartfelt reminder that children are powered by an imaginative daring and purity of bonding we’d be wise to nurture, not squelch, if we’re going to learn how to inhabit the increasingly uninhabitable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026

In a feeble attempt to squelch the idea of inviting her, I put the onus back on them.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

What crushes confidence is uncertainty that squelches investment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

As she explained in a recent phone call, she was gobsmacked by the result, a dance track that mixes laser squelches, piano chords, a skittering beat and Croft’s wistful vocals.

From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2022

Antiretroviral treatment squelches HIV reproduction but sensitive tests show that even with the most effective treatments, small populations of white blood cells studded with the CD4 receptor harbor HIV’s DNA in a latent state.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 3, 2022

That not only imperils his $2.183 million salary for 2021, but it also squelches trade talks for the fourth-year pro from Penn State.

From Seattle Times ● May 14, 2021

It squelches independent inquiry, and makes such a thing impossible, profane, criminal, it authoritatively settles every dispute that can arise.

From Christian Science by Mark Twain

From the opening minute, Belgium absolutely dominated the Americans and squelched every shred of optimism the U.S. had generated among fans about their promising start to the tournament.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

So far, the higher rates have softened but not squelched buyer demand in the spring home-buying season, he noted.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026

Had there been better information, a more bounded threat, the arms race of the missile age might have been squelched before it took off.

From Slate ● Feb. 3, 2026

The Senate provided guidelines, such as making clear statements represented faculty members or groups and not the university and ensuring that minority or dissenting views are not squelched.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2024

RiRi’s pink boots squelched and sucked in the ground mush.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

Hnath’s sequel, without squelching the politics, picks up the forgotten human story of Ibsen’s indelible classic.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2025

A federal appeals court largely sided with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office on many of the allegations, squelching much of the lawsuit over the deputies’ use of force.

From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024

"The amount of water that came in was horrendous," she said, explaining how the carpets were "squelching" underfoot and almost all of her son's things were drenched.

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2023

In addition, the destruction of evidence and the squelching of internal reports only expanded that seemingly bottomless abyss that still, in part, confronts us.

From Salon ● May 25, 2023

Then they head back down the alley, her shoes squelching as she goes.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• crush
• extinguish
• muffle
• oppress
• repress
• smother
• squash
• stifle
• thwart