squelch

[skwelch]

verb (used with object)

to strike or press with crushing force; crush down; squash.
to put down, suppress, or silence, as with a crushing retort or argument.

verb (used without object)

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

noun

a squelched or crushed mass of anything.
a splashing sound.
an act of squelching or suppressing, as by a crushing retort or argument.
Also called squelch circuit, noise suppressor. 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.

Origin of squelch

1610–20; variant of quelch in same sense (perhaps blend of quell and quash); initial s perhaps from squash¹

Related formssquelch·er, nounsquelch·ing·ly, adverbsquelch·ing·ness, nounun·squelched, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for squelching

thwart, muffle, squash, repress, crush, smother, extinguish, stifle, oppress, quench, censure, settle, kill, shush, strangle, quelch

Examples from the Web for squelching

Contemporary Examples of squelching

Yeah,” he says finally, squelching his giggles by downing half a bottle of Bud, “that sounds like Ray.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial
Ivan Solotaroff
June 28, 2014
Traditionally, the yakuza have supplied the ruling party with votes, financial aid, and squelching scandal services.
Japan’s Justice Minister to Resign Over Yakuza Ties
Jake Adelstein
October 19, 2012
All the rest—the stuff about squelching innovation, and hurting consumers—is just kabuki theater.
Nicolas Sarkozy Demands More Policing of the Internet
Dan Lyons
May 24, 2011

Historical Examples of squelching

And fool not with Elephant Law, which is given to squelching the weak.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 107, September 8, 1894
Various
My felt boots are soaking and squelching, my socks are snuffling.
Letters of Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
And squelching 'umbugs always do give me pertikler pleasure.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105, August 26th 1893
Various
They sank up to the knee in the squelching ooze, and the ground behind them looked like an indiarubber sponge.
Trans-Himalaya, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Sven Hedin
At last we set off slowly, squelching through the mud on the wet roads, the rain pouring down unceasingly.
Q.6.a and Other places
Francis Buckley

British Dictionary definitions for squelching

squelch

verb

(intr) to walk laboriously through soft wet material or with wet shoes, making a sucking noise
(intr) to make such a noise
(tr) to crush completely; squash
(tr) informal to silence, as by a crushing retort

noun

a squelching sound
something that has been squelched
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
informal a crushing remark

Derived Formssquelcher, nounsquelching, adjectivesquelchy, adjective

Word Origin for squelch

C17: of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for squelching

squelch

1620s, "to fall, drop, or stomp on something (soft) with crushing force," possibly imitative of sound made. The figurative sense of "suppress completely" is first recorded 1864.