screecher

verb (used without object)

to utter or make a harsh, shrill cry or sound: The child screeched hysterically. The brakes screeched.

verb (used with object)

to utter with a screech: She screeched her warning.

noun

a harsh, shrill cry or sound: an owl's screech; the screech of brakes.

Origin:
1550–60; variant of obsolete scritch to scream; akin to screak

Related forms

screech·er, noun

Synonyms
1. See scream.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary

screech¹ (skriːtʃ)

—n
1.	a shrill, harsh, or high-pitched sound or cry

—vb
2.	to utter with or produce a screech

[C16: variant of earlier scritch, of imitative origin]

'screecher¹

—n

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screech¹ (skriːtʃ)

—n
1.	a shrill, harsh, or high-pitched sound or cry

—vb
2.	to utter with or produce a screech

[C16: variant of earlier scritch, of imitative origin]

'screecher¹

—n

screech² (skriːtʃ)

—n
	(esp in Newfoundland) a dark rum

[perhaps special use of screech¹]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

screech

mid-13c., schrichen, possibly of imitative origin (cf. shriek). The noun is first recorded 1550s. Screech owl is attested from 1590s (scritch-owl is from 1520s).

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