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were screeching

  • past progressive
    of screech.
    screech
    verb (used without object)
    to utter or make a harsh, shrill cry or sound.

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:

Several minutes later, personal cellphones around Seoul were screeching with a government alert urging residents to “prepare to evacuate,” children and the old and weak first.

From New York Times May 31, 2023

By evening, areas from Philadelphia to New York to Connecticut were in their first-ever flash flood emergency, and cellphones were screeching with multiple Weather Service and local government alerts.

From Washington Post Sep. 16, 2021

One afternoon in January, machines were screeching, sparks were flying and 74 employees were working on dozens of sculptures-in-progress.

From New York Times Jan. 31, 2015

The faces of some were painted blue, he says, and they were "screeching" at each other at the top of their lungs.

From Time Magazine Archive

They were screeching and soaring and nesting on the hillsides.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown