Squeal

//skwil// noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A high-pitched sound, such as the scream of a child or a female person, or noisy worn-down brake pads.
  2. 2
    a high-pitched howl wordnet
  3. 3
    The cry of a pig.
Verb
  1. 1
    To scream with a shrill, prolonged sound. ambitransitive

    "The children squealed with delight while opening their Christmas presents."

  2. 2
    confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure wordnet
  3. 3
    To make a squealing noise. (of an object)

    "The brakes squeal terribly."

  4. 4
    utter a high-pitched cry, characteristic of pigs wordnet
  5. 5
    To give sensitive information about someone to a third party; to rat on someone. intransitive, slang

    "You'd better not squeal on me to the cops."

Synonyms

All synonyms
informsnitchbabblebarkbattle crybawl

Example

More examples

"A black limo rounded the corner with a squeal of tires."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English squelen, probably from Old Norse skvala (“to squeal, bawl”), from Proto-Germanic *skwel- (“to chatter, babble, scream”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *skel-, from *kelh₁- (“to ring, resound, cry”). Compare Old Norse skval (“a squeal”, noun), Swedish skvallra (“to babble, chatter, tell on”).

Related phrases

pig squealsqueal like a stuck pighigh pitched

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.