squeal
Americannoun
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a somewhat prolonged, sharp, shrill cry, as of pain, fear, or surprise.
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Slang.
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an instance of informing against someone.
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a protest or complaint; beef.
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verb (used without object)
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to utter or emit a squeal or squealing sound.
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Slang.
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to turn informer; inform.
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to protest or complain; beef.
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verb (used with object)
noun
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a high shrill yelp, as of pain
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a screaming sound, as of tyres when a car brakes suddenly
verb
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to utter a squeal or with a squeal
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slang (intr) to confess information about another
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informal (intr) to complain or protest loudly
Other Word Forms
- squealer noun
Etymology
Origin of squeal
1250–1300; Middle English squelen; imitative
Explanation
To squeal is to make a sharp, high-pitched cry, the way a piglet squeals or the excited way your little sister will squeal when she sees the huge birthday cake you made for her. Grab a piglet by the tail and you'll hear a squeal. You can also bring a bunch of puppies to a kindergarten class to hear a lot of kids squeal in delight. Squeal is an imitative word, one that came from the sound it describes, similar to skvala, or "cry out" in Old Norse, and the English squall, "to cry out loudly."
Vocabulary lists containing squeal
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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.
When they get their money, they run madly for the exits, bowling over anyone in their path, and they squeal away in their cars, leaving tire tracks on the road.
From Slate • Nov. 15, 2025
The word “try” is banned—if a student says it, Lee lets out a squeal so loud that the teaching assistant on the other side of the wall can hear it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
Children squeal in delight at the baby rave at the Roxy as Kuma the money, Lenny Pearce’s sidekick, hypes up the crowd.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2025
"We just heard this squeal, the rev of an engine and a huge, loud impact," Kimberly Stricklen, a visitor to New Orleans, told Reuters.
From BBC • Jan. 2, 2025
They throw their hands up and squeal, and there I am, smiling on the inside.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
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.
