shriek
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Related Words
See scream.
Other Word Forms
- outshriek verb (used with object)
- shrieker noun
- shriekingly adverb
- shrieky adjective
Etymology
Origin of shriek
First recorded in 1560–70; earlier shrick, northern variant of shritch (now dialect), Middle English schrichen, back formation from Old English scriccettan; akin to shrike
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.
This time, the shriek was all mine—and I dropped my phone.
From Literature
“You don’t even say thank you!” she shrieks in another.
From Los Angeles Times
I screamed, but they shrieked and converged on me like a flying army.
From Literature
His shrieking reactions to his wife’s savagery throw into relief his good nature and her perversity.
From Los Angeles Times
Katherine shrieked and then she giggled and then she pounded her fists against Jonah’s chest.
From Literature
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.
