scream
Americanverb (used without object)
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to utter a loud, sharp, piercing cry.
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to emit a shrill, piercing sound.
The sirens and whistles screamed.
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to laugh immoderately or uncontrollably.
The comedian had the audience screaming.
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to shout or speak shrilly, especially with harsh or exaggerated words.
They screamed across the back fence.
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to play or sing in a high, loud, harsh manner.
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to be conspicuous or startling.
That red dress really screams.
verb (used with object)
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to utter with or as if with a loud, piercing cry.
His patience exhausted, he screamed the instructions to the class.
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to bring (oneself) to a specified condition by loud and shrill shouts or cries.
We screamed ourselves hoarse at the concert.
verb
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to utter or emit (a sharp piercing cry or similar sound or sounds), esp as of fear, pain, etc
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(intr) to laugh wildly
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(intr) to speak, shout, or behave in a wild or impassioned manner
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(tr) to bring (oneself) into a specified state by screaming
she screamed herself hoarse
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(intr) to be extremely conspicuous
these orange curtains scream, you need more restful colours in a bedroom
noun
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a sharp piercing cry or sound, esp one denoting fear or pain
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informal a person or thing that causes great amusement
Synonym Usage
Scream, shriek, screech apply to crying out in a loud, piercing way. To scream is to utter a loud, piercing cry, especially of pain, fear, anger, or excitement: to scream with terror. The word is used also for a little, barely audible cry given by one who is startled. Shriek usually refers to a sharper and briefer cry than scream; when caused by fear or pain, it is often indicative of more terror or distress; shriek is also used for shrill uncontrolled cries: to shriek with laughter. Screech emphasizes disagreeable shrillness and harshness, often with a connotation of lack of dignity: to screech approval at a rock concert.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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screamsimple
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screamssimple
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have screamedperfect
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has screamedperfect
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am screamingprogressive
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are screamingprogressive
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is screamingprogressive
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have been screamingperfect progressive
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has been screamingperfect progressive
Past
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screamedsimple
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had screamedperfect
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was screamingprogressive
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were screamingprogressive
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had been screamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scream
First recorded in 1150–1200; 1905–10 scream for def. 11; Middle English screamen (verb), (unattested) Old English scrǣman; akin to Old Norse skraumi “chatterbox, braggart,” skruma “to jabber”; sc- (for regular sh- as in Middle English shreame ) from obsolete scritch “to screech” ( see screech
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:
Admire some of them, sure; watch with bated breath and then scream in astonishment when they pull off some amazing feat or another, absolutely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
"Silencio" the rescuers scream turning towards the road with their fists up in the air, motioning to everyone to remain silent.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
The first thing the 1,000 men and women of the United States Naval Academy do, after hearing the artillery fire, is scream, tear off their shirts, and charge toward me.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
“The Listeners” arrives with some of the appointments of a horror movie—and if one were subject to a constant roar like Claire’s, one might indeed scream.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
I made a noise somewhere between an indignant choke and a pterodactyl scream.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
"My daughter screams all day and is afraid," she says, adding that Yusha has become paranoid about planes falling from the sky.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Tied to the mast of his ship as he and his crew pass the singing sirens, adorned on the jagged rocks at sea, Odysseus screams out with pain and desire.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Videos of audible screams of riders on the coaster have gone viral in recent weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
"We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams ... for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door," the woman said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The mother heard Iphicles’ screams and, calling to her husband, rushed to the nursery.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
In response to an image of the rodent working on a laptop in a preschool classroom, one user commented: “Amelia has just screamed in excitement that it’s in the class.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Related: ‘I’ve yelled, screamed and cried’: My mother gave $400K to online scammers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
"I turned to everyone and screamed, 'my daughter is alive'," said Karina.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Somebody else might have made a stand, kicked and screamed, said, “If they go, I go. ”
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
The children screamed, half of them shouting for the boy to do it, the other half pleading for him to stop.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The machines that turn it into fuel are screaming either way.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Stop AI was plotting its next stunt, draping banners from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, when Kirchner and Allen got into a screaming match over the wording, Allen and other members say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Laotian tourist Kan Kutirat told AFP he "heard loud screaming from a lot of people inside -- chaos happened".
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
Her ball toss went awry, her footwork was a step slower, and she was more agitated, at one point screaming in frustration after a netted forehand.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
We had to walk because apparently the horses got spooked when Frederick and Bruno ran screaming, and the carriage took off without them.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
