shriek

Use shriek in a sentence

A woman shrieking.

noun

The definition of a shriek is a high-pitched scream or cry often made when angry, scared or in pain.
The high-pitched sound you make when you see a ghost is an example of a shriek.

verb

To shriek is to make a high-pitched sound, often out of fear, anger or pain.
When you start yelling and screaming, this is an example of a time when you shriek.

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MLA Style

"shriek." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHRIEK>.

APA Style

shriek. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHRIEK

shriek

to make a loud, sharp, piercing cry or sound, as certain animals, or a person in terror, pain, or laughter; screech

Origin of shriek

Middle English schriken, variant, variety of scriken, probably from Old Norse an unverified form skr?ka, to cry, akin to skr?kja, cry of birds: for Indo-European base see scream

to utter with a shriek

a loud, piercing cry or sound

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"shriek." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHRIEK>.

APA Style

shriek. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHRIEK

shriek

noun

A shrill, often frantic cry.
A sound suggestive of such a cry.

verb

shrieked, shriek·ing, shrieks

verb

intransitive

To utter a shriek.
To make a sound similar to a shriek.

verb

transitive

To utter with a shriek.

Origin of shriek

Middle English skriken, shriken of Scandinavian origin Old Norse skrækja

Related Forms:

shriek′er
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"shriek." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 July 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHRIEK>.

APA Style

shriek. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/SHRIEK

Noun

(plural shrieks)

A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry such as is caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.
(UK) (slang) An exclamation mark.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present shrieks, present participle shrieking, simple past and past participle shrieked or shright (obsolete))

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

Anagrams

Origin

From Middle English scrycke, probably from Old Norse skrÃ¦kja, itself probably of imitative origin. Cognate to Swedish skrika (skrik), German schreien (Schrei), both with the same meaning, and Albanian grykÃ« (“throat").

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.