shriek

Noun · Verb
US[shreek]/ʃrik/1 syllable
Synonyms: screamscreamingshriekingscreechscreechingshrillpipe uppipe

Open English WordNet

Noun (2)shrieks

  1. sharp piercing cry“her screaming attracted the neighbors”Synonyms: screamscreamingshriekingscreechscreechingType of cry, outcry
  2. a high-pitched noise resembling a human cry“he ducked at the screechings of shells”“he heard the scream of the brakes”Synonyms: screechscreechingshriekingscreamscreamingType of noise

Verb (1)shrieks, shrieked, shrieking

  1. utter a shrill crySynonyms: shrillpipe uppipeMore general shout, shout outMore specific yowl, caterwaul

Related words screechy adjective, screak verb, screech verb

Word of the day · Oct 15About this word
exemplaryadjective

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Shriek intransitive verb [past tense & past participle Shrieked; present participle & verbal noun Shrieking.]

Origin: OE. shriken, originallythe same word as E. screech. See Screech, and cf. Screak.

To utter a loud, sharp, shrill sound or cry, as do some birds and beasts; to scream, as in a sudden fright, in horror or anguish.

It was the owl that shrieked.— William Shakespeare
At this she shrieked aloud; the mournful train Echoed her grief.— John Dryden
Shriek transitive verb

To utter sharply and shrilly; to utter in or with a shriek or shrieks.

On top whereof aye dwelt the ghostly owl, Shrieking his baleful note.— Edmund Spenser
She shrieked his name To the dark woods.— Thomas Moore
Shriek noun

A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry such as is caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.

Shrieks, clamors, murmurs, fill the frighted town.— John Dryden

Shriek owl. Zoology (a) The screech owl. (b) The swift; — so called from its cry.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

exclamation mark ! excl exclamation point shriek

<character> The character "!" with ASCII code 33.

Common names: bang; pling; excl (/eks'kl/); shriek; ITU-T: exclamation mark, exclamation point (US). Rare: factorial; exclam; smash; cuss; boing; yell; wow; hey; wham; eureka; soldier; INTERCAL: spark-spot.

The Commonwealth Hackish, "pling", is common among Acorn Archimedes owners. Bang is more common in the USA.

The occasional CMU usage, "shriek", is also used by APL fans and mathematicians, especially category theorists.

Exclamation mark is used in C and elsewhere as the logical negation operation (NOT).

(1998-09-17)

The Jargon File

shriek n.

See excl. Occasional CMU usage, also in common use among APL fans and mathematicians, especially category theorists.

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