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shriek

 - 5 dictionary results

shriek

  [shreek]
Use shriek in a Sentence
–noun
1. a loud, sharp, shrill cry.
2. a loud, high sound of laughter.
3. any loud, shrill sound, as of a whistle.
–verb (used without object)
4. to utter a loud, sharp, shrill cry, as birds.
5. to cry out sharply in a high voice: to shriek with pain.
6. to utter loud, high-pitched sounds in laughing.
7. (of a musical instrument, a whistle, the wind, etc.) to give forth a loud, shrill sound.
–verb (used with object)
8. to utter in a shriek: to shriek defiance.
Origin:
1560–70; earlier shrick, N var. of shritch (now dial.), ME schrichen, back formation from OE scriccettan; akin to shrike

Related forms:
shrieker, noun
shriek⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
shrieky, adjective

Synonyms:
1, 5. scream, screech. 5. See scream.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To shriek
shriek   (shrēk)   
n.  

  1. A shrill, often frantic cry.

  2. A sound suggestive of such a cry.

v.   shrieked, shriek·ing, shrieks

v.   intr.

  1. To utter a shriek.

  2. To make a sound similar to a shriek.

v.   tr.
To utter with a shriek.

[Middle English skriken, shriken, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skrækja.]
shriek'er n.
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
shriek

  1. n.
    an exclamation point. (Printers. See also screamer; shout.) : Take off that shriek. You use too many of those things.
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

shriek  (v.)
c.1200, scrycke, from O.N. skrækja "to screech" (see screech), probably of imitative origin. The noun is attested from 1590.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

shriek
exclamation mark

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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