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
Explanation
To screech is to make a piercing, high-pitched sound. It can also be the sound itself. Want to hear a screech? Take a little kid’s lollipop away. A screech is another word for a scream, shriek, or cry. It’s not fun to listen to. If a woman in a horror movie finds a bad guy in her closet, she’ll probably screech. If you surprise someone in the middle of the night, expect a screech. Things can also screech, like when a car screeches to a sudden stop at a red light.
Vocabulary lists containing screech
"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry
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The Pigman
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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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.
The loud screech of a Typhoon and F-35 jet rips through the night sky above RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
In fact, any birder will tell you that the sky-rending screech that accompanies bald eagles in most media depictions actually belongs to a red-tailed hawk.
From Slate • Feb. 21, 2026
The day after high school graduation, Dolly boarded the first bus for Nashville, where record producers said she sounded like a screech owl and was too country to sing country music.
From Salon • Jan. 19, 2026
Pareja then saw the housing market screech to a halt during the Great Recession, a crisis in which subprime mortgages were a central cause.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 12, 2025
I didn’t know if Doc or Jay could hear it, but a screech, somewhere between a person’s scream and a bird’s cry, filled the air around me.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
