1
: a high shrill piercing cry usually expressing pain or terror
2
: a sound resembling a screech
screeched; screeching; screeches
1
: to utter a high shrill piercing cry : make an outcry usually in terror or pain
2
: to make a shrill high-pitched sound resembling a screech
also
: to move with such a sound
the car screeched to a stop
: to utter with or as if with a screech
screecher
noun
Synonyms
Examples of screech in a Sentence
Noun
With a loud screech, she smashed the plate against the wall.
Verb
I screeched when I saw the mouse.
He kept screeching at the children to pay attention.
“You can't do this to me!” she screeched.
Recent Examples on the Web
Hema Sivanandam, The Mercury News, 14 Dec. 2024
The climax is protracted but darkly thrilling: ugly secrets spill into the open, winged monkeys screech and scatter, and Elphaba comes into full possession of her powers.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2024
Peter Ross, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
Gone are the days of them screeching for a can of wet food at 5 am.
—Boutayna Chokrane, WIRED, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for screech 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Phill Simon and his family were sleeping in their Glen Park home when the screech of tornado alerts going off on their phones woke them up.
—Hema Sivanandam, The Mercury News, 14 Dec. 2024
The climax is protracted but darkly thrilling: ugly secrets spill into the open, winged monkeys screech and scatter, and Elphaba comes into full possession of her powers.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2024
Verb
Aside from nurses, doctors, grocery workers and truck drivers, there are plenty of other workers most couldn’t live without—plumbers, electricians, construction workers and other service personnel kept going when the rest of the world came to a screeching halt.
—Peter Ross, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
Gone are the days of them screeching for a can of wet food at 5 am.
—Boutayna Chokrane, WIRED, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for screech
Articles Related to screech
Dictionary Entries Near screech
Cite this Entry
“Screech.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screech. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
screech
1 of 2 noun1
: a shrill harsh cry usually expressing pain or terror
2
: a sound like a screech
the screech of brakes
screech
2 of 2 verb1
: to cry out usually in terror or pain
2
: to make a sound like a screech
the car screeched to a halt
screecher
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share