screech
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
verb
noun
Related Words
See scream.
Other Word Forms
- screecher noun
Etymology
Origin of screech
First recorded in 1550–60; variant of obsolete scritch “to scream”; akin to screak
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.
Besides, there were a few bad luck things that I believed in—things like hearing a screech owl at midnight, tripping over a broom, or dropping the water bucket in the well.
From Literature
Pixies instantly flew at me, chirping and screeching.
From Literature
As one locomotive screeches into the old El-Raml Station, commuters and visitors crane their necks out of giant windows at the historic neo-Venetian buildings overhead.
From Barron's
Birds soared and swooped, screeched and fished; iguanas and lizards scrabbled; sea lions lazed and their king’s honk! echoed across the water.
From Literature
Outside of major cities, rural communities still light sparklers and screeching "missile" fireworks to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which falls next week.
From Barron's
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.
