squelch
Americanverb (used with object)
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squelches,
present (3rd person singular)
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squelched,
past participle, past
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squelching
present participle
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to strike or press with crushing force; crush down; squash.
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to put down, suppress, or silence, as with a crushing retort or argument.
verb (used without object)
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squelches,
present (3rd person singular)
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squelched,
past participle, past
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squelching
present participle
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to make a splashing sound.
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to tread heavily in water, mud, wet shoes, etc., with such a sound.
noun
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a squelched or crushed mass of anything.
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a splashing sound.
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an act of squelching or suppressing, as by a crushing retort or argument.
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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.
verb
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(intr) to walk laboriously through soft wet material or with wet shoes, making a sucking noise
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(intr) to make such a noise
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(tr) to crush completely; squash
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informal (tr) to silence, as by a crushing retort
noun
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a squelching sound
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something that has been squelched
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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
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informal a crushing remark
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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squelchernoun
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squelchingnessnoun
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squelchingadjective
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squelchyadjective
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unsquelchedadjective
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squelchinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squelchsimple
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squelchessimple
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have squelchedperfect
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has squelchedperfect
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am squelchingprogressive
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are squelchingprogressive
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is squelchingprogressive
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have been squelchingperfect progressive
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has been squelchingperfect progressive
Past
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squelchedsimple
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had squelchedperfect
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was squelchingprogressive
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were squelchingprogressive
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had been squelchingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing squelch
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 14–18
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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"The Witches" by Roald Dahl, Chapters 1–5
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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:
From its early days, however, the company was happy to use regulation to squelch competitors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
In fact, both Black activists and congressional champions of Reconstruction understood that race still mattered, and that made it critical to give Congress broad powers to squelch efforts to suppress or cancel out Black votes.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2025
The case is a headache that CEO Shari Redstone does not need as she pursues a high-stakes sale of the company, a deal the FCC itself could squelch.
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2025
Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google acted illegally to squelch competition in its online search business.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2024
Indeed, the Pythagoreans had tried to squelch another troublesome mathematical concept—the irrational.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
What crushes confidence is uncertainty that squelches investment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
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
“To end any of that suspicion, if you have the means to do so, it squelches a lot of that if you get someone who comes in and has an opposing view.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 2019
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the company and published the request Tuesday, says the case shows authorities demand more customer information than is authorized by law and unconstitutionally squelches public objections.
From US News ● Oct. 4, 2016
“I guess the return of the jewels squelches the Macdougal theory,” he remarked.
From The Black Box by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim
Touring the Marylander Condominiums in Prince George’s County, Md., I noticed how the ground squelched under my shoes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 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 fabled front was always understood to be window dressing veiling frustrations, squelched desires, and countless other malignancies.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2023
When he moved forward his feet squelched and he had to take off his shoes and shake them out before he could go on.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
The spikier “Tongue” is the other rocker, whose arrangement is a blend of syncopated drum breaks, squelching keyboards and drones built on feedback and distortion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
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
When it comes to the body horror aspect of it all, “The Substance” delivers on all fronts, from its heightened satire, squelching and crackling sound effects, and revved-up visuals.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2024
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 clay made squelching, sucking noises, as if it were trying to swallow the spade.
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
