What does "screech" mean?
A high-pitched strident or piercing sound, such as that between a moving object and any surface.
Screech
/skɹiːt͡ʃ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A high-pitched strident or piercing sound, such as that between a moving object and any surface.
- Grammar: screech is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: scream, shriek, bark, battle cry.
- Useful contrasts: calm, composure, murmur.
- Usage evidence: With a rattle and a screech, a tractor rolled through the field, knocking the grass flat with a giant red rolling pin.
How to use "screech"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "screech" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "screech" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "screech" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "screech" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "screech" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "scream" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "screech", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A high-pitched strident or piercing sound, such as that between a moving object and any surface. countable
- 2 sharp piercing cry wordnet
- 3 A harsh, shrill cry, as of one in acute pain or in fright; a shriek; a scream. countable
- 4 a high-pitched noise resembling a human cry wordnet
- 5 Newfoundland rum. Newfoundland, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A form of home-made rye whiskey made from used oak rye barrels from a distillery. uncountable
Verb
- 1 To make such a sound.
"That the night owl should screech before the noonday sun, that the bat should wheel around the bad of beauty […]"
- 2 utter a harsh abrupt scream wordnet
- 3 To travel very fast, as if making the sound of a car that is driving too fast. figuratively, intransitive
"You've got to admire their balls. Real Madrid screeched after them: an entire herd, powerful and co-ordinated, salivating and breathing hard, murder in their eyes. So Barcelona moved the ball on, away from them. Forced back, it was played into Víctor Valdés, the goalkeeper, who slotted it to Carles Puyol, who gave it back again."
- 4 make a high-pitched, screeching noise wordnet
Example
"With a rattle and a screech, a tractor rolled through the field, knocking the grass flat with a giant red rolling pin."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "screech"?
Common synonyms include: scream, shriek, bark, battle cry, bawl, bay.
How do you use "screech" in a sentence?
With a rattle and a screech, a tractor rolled through the field, knocking the grass flat with a giant red rolling pin.
How do you pronounce "screech"?
Pronounced /skɹiːt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
1602; altered with expressive vowel lengthening from earlier skrech (1577), variant of obsolete scritch, from Middle English skriken, shrichen, schrichen (1250), from Old English (attested as scriccettan) and Old Norse skríkja, both from Proto-Germanic *skrīkijaną (compare Icelandic skríkja, Old Saxon scricōn, Danish skrige, Swedish skrika), derivative of *skrīhaną (compare Middle Dutch schriën, German schreien, Low German dial. schrien, schriegen), ultimately of imitative origin.