noun
screech
skreech
noun
1
A harsh, high-pitched cry or sound.
"The brakes let out a screech as the car stopped short."
verb
1
To make a harsh, high-pitched sound.
"The owl screeched from the treetop."
"Tires screeched around the corner."
How to Use Screech
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA harsh, high-pitched sound, or to make one.
Common pairings
screech to a halt
screech in pain
a piercing screech
Word Forms
screeched past tense, screeches plural, screeches singular
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The brakes let out a _____ as the car stopped short.
Etymology
An altered form of an earlier word, scritch, ultimately from Old English and Old Norse verbs meaning to shriek, likely imitative of the sound itself.