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scream

 - 5 dictionary results

scream

  [skreem]
Use scream in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to utter a loud, sharp, piercing cry.
2. to emit a shrill, piercing sound: The sirens and whistles screamed.
3. to laugh immoderately or uncontrollably: The comedian had the audience screaming.
4. to shout or speak shrilly, esp. with harsh or exaggerated words: They screamed across the back fence.
5. to play or sing in a high, loud, harsh manner.
6. to be conspicuous or startling: That red dress really screams.
–verb (used with object)
7. to utter with or as if with a scream or screams.
8. to make by screaming: to scream oneself hoarse.
–noun
9. a loud, sharp, piercing cry: Her scream frightened off the burglar.
10. a shrill, piercing sound: the scream of the tires as the car rounded the curve.
11. Informal. someone or something that is hilariously funny: The movie was a scream.
Origin:
1150–1200; 1905–10 for def. 11; ME screamen (v.), OE *scrǣman; akin to ON skraumi chatterbox, braggart, skruma to jabber; sc- (for regular sh- as in ME shreame) from obs. scritch to screech

Synonyms:
1. Scream, shriek, screech apply to crying out in a loud, piercing way. To scream is to utter a loud, piercing cry, esp. of pain, fear, anger, or excitement: to scream with terror. The word is used also for a little, barely audible cry given by one who is startled. Shriek usually refers to a sharper and briefer cry than scream; when caused by fear or pain, it is often indicative of more terror or distress; shriek is also used for shrill uncontrolled cries: to shriek with laughter. Screech emphasizes disagreeable shrillness and harshness, often with a connotation of lack of dignity: to screech approval at a rock concert. 9. outcry, shriek, screech, screak.

Scream, The

 
–noun
a painting (1937) by Edvard Munch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scream
scream   (skrēm)   
v.   screamed, scream·ing, screams

v.   intr.

  1. To utter a long loud piercing cry, as from pain or fear.

  2. To make a loud piercing sound: Jet planes screamed through the air.

  3. To speak or write in a heated hysterical manner.

  4. To have or produce a startling effect: The outlandish costume screamed with clashing colors.

v.   tr.
To utter or say in or as if in a screaming voice.
n.  

  1. A long, loud, piercing cry or sound.

  2. Informal One that is hilariously or ridiculously funny: The new play was a scream.


[Middle English screamen, possibly of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse scræma.]
scream'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
scream

  1. n.
    someone or something very funny. (Usually a scream.) : The joke Tom told was really a scream.
  2. n.
    ice cream. (Collegiate.) : How about a nice big dish of scream?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

scream  (v.)
c.1225, earlier shreamen (c.1200), of uncertain origin, similar to words in Scand., Du., Ger., and Flem. (cf. O.N. skræma "to terrify, scare," Swed. scrana "to scream," O.H.G. scrian, Ger. schreien "to cry"). The noun is attested from 1513.
"And (as they say) lamentings heard i' th' Ayre; Strange Schreemes of Death." ["Macbeth," II.iii.61]
Shakespeare's spelling probably reflects "sk-" as spelled in words from Latin (e.g. school); he also has schreene for screen. Slang meaning "something that evokes a cry of laughter" is 1903; screamer in this sense is from 1831. Screaming meemies is World War I army slang, originally a soldiers' name for a type of Ger. artillery shell that made a loud noise in flight (from Fr. woman's name Mimi), extended to the battle fatigue caused by long exposure to enemy fire.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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