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Definition of "shriek" []

  • A shrill, often frantic cry. (noun)
  • A sound suggestive of such a cry. (noun)
  • To utter a shriek. (verb-intransitive)
  • To make a sound similar to a shriek. (verb-intransitive)
  • To utter with a shriek. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "shriek" in a sentence
  • "But the shriek from the bed was not that of a man, but a boy."
  • "Just as I said it, there was a shriek from the bathroom, shortly followed by splashes, shouting and more crying .... ah, everything back to normal again."
  • "An old woman, called Williamson, a sad reprobate, in attempting to do so, set her foot within the fender, which the captain had converted into a repository for empty glass bottles; the smash that ensued was echoed by a shriek from the whole party."