How to Use screech in a Sentence

screech

1 of 2 noun
  • With a loud screech, she smashed the plate against the wall.
  • My team scored first, prompting me to jump off the couch and screech.
    — Rebecca R. Ruiz, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2022
  • Spread over him and shoved him forward, and he was woken by a screech and a howl.
    — Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026
  • How is the whole world not having a big collective screech to get the job done?
    — Chris Willman, chicagotribune.com, 16 Aug. 2020
  • The hiss of the blowtorch and the screech of nearby trains were its soundtrack.
    — Dianne Solis, Dallas News, 10 Jan. 2020
  • The tower's steel girders shivered and, with a mighty screech, bent in two.
    — The Oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, 29 Dec. 2017
  • The young girl jumped from her chair and gave a long screech before covering her mouth in shock.
    — Perry Stein, Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2019
  • The birds and animals the workers didn't shoot for food would be scared away by the screech of chain saws.
    — Carolina Schneider Comandulli, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2022
  • The only noise is the dip-dip of oars and the ethereal screech of horseshoe bats.
    — Tristan Rutherford, Robb Report, 26 Jan. 2026
  • This program will include a trio of screech owls, a barn owl and a peregrine falcon.
    — Hartford Courant, 10 June 2022
  • Later on that evening, there was a loud screech followed by the explosion.
    — Anna Gordon, TIME, 20 Oct. 2023
  • Video of the crash showed the car reversing and hitting more people amid a screech of tires.
    — Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati.com, 14 Dec. 2017
  • Bald eagles screech and swoop from treetop to rock top, tearing into the flesh of fish.
    — Amy Gulick, The New Republic, 5 Nov. 2020
  • Erich accepts her final rose, and all the peacocks screech in approval.
    — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 21 Sep. 2022
  • Think of the potential for cute flying squirrels, screech owls and tree frogs!
    — Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 20 Apr. 2022
  • This was followed by an expletive and an ear-piercing screech.
    — Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Aug. 2022
  • The door swung open with a clunk and a screech, and cold clean air rushed into his lungs like the first breath after a storm.
    — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, 8 July 2018
  • Synthetic melodies rip through the room with a sugary-sweet screech, then abruptly cut.
    — Kat Bein, Billboard, 13 Dec. 2017
  • The sounds of beastly screeches and splashing water came from the bathroom.
    — Ellyn Laub, sun-sentinel.com, 21 Nov. 2019
  • The engine emitted an ear-shattering screech as the steam was released.
    — Alexa Buechler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 25 July 2019
  • Undeterred, the car sped away with a screech of tires, and construction workers gave chase in their own cars.
    — Peter Wade, Esquire, 26 Mar. 2017
  • There are several steps to the process, including drinking a shot of screech and kissing a cod fish.
    — Francesca Street, CNN, 8 Sep. 2021
  • Silver fish leap above the surface, twisting like gymnasts, and a pet peacock screeches from the shore.
    — Kiley Bense, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
  • On a recent day patrol in the Small Mammal House, there’s a loud screech.
    — James V. Grimaldi, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022
  • Later, Audrey stumbles while on a sloping incline and lets out a screech that echoes in the alpine air.
    — Shariffa Ali, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2023
  • The sound of fierce winds is interrupted by the occasional call of a brown eagle or screech of a hawk.
    — Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2021
  • As Flores spoke, the iron bars made a metallic screech as a woman pushed a baby stroller through the opening.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2022
  • Each day since has brought the wail of air-raid sirens, the screech of breaking glass and numbingly frequent moments of silence for the dead.
    — Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2022
  • Then the screech of a spiny lobster katydid, or giant lobster cricket, ricochets among the trees.
    — Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 July 2023
  • The screech and clang of metal were followed by silence, then screams, as the injured cried out to rescuers and motorists pulled over and rushed to help.
    — Michael Balsamo and Haven Daley, Houston Chronicle, 19 Dec. 2017

screech

2 of 2 verb
  • I screeched when I saw the mouse.
  • He kept screeching at the children to pay attention.
  • My mom’s car soon screeched to a stop in the driveway.
    — Gene Wojciechowski, PEOPLE, 21 June 2026
  • Next time your door begins to screech at you, don’t just shut it out.
    — Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Suddenly, a squad car screeched to a stop in front of the house.
    — Detroit Free Press, 15 May 2018
  • Would any of the guys take one look at me and jump back into the limo and screech off?
    — Becca Kufrin, PEOPLE.com, 29 May 2018
  • What sounds like screeching tires is heard as the truck abruptly stops.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Just then, a white jeep sped down the corner, screeching to a halt.
    — Andrew V. Papachristos, Scientific American, 9 June 2023
  • Langur monkeys screeched from the canopy above.
    — Kate McMahon, AFAR Media, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Whipping around a corner, the tires screech.
    — Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
  • But by midday, House action again screeched to a halt.
    — Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
  • The driver gets out after screeching to a stop and he’s pissed.
    — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
  • Someone complains that the birds on the first floor have been screeching.
    — New York Times, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Scores of birds fluttered and screeched as gun battles raged outside.
    — Sufian Taha, Washington Post, 9 July 2023
  • Those who don't screech to a halt in time are immediately gunned down.
    — Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 30 Dec. 2021
  • Kirkwood then went upside down before his car came to screeching stop on the track.
    — Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 28 May 2023
  • When this market breaks down, the entire economy can screech to a halt.
    — Matt Egan, CNN, 7 Dec. 2020
  • At night coconut crabs scuttled across the roof to the sound of screeching metal.
    — Ngm Maps, National Geographic, 12 June 2019
  • Nothing brings a broadcast to a screeching halt more than these yellow flags.
    — Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Louison said she was awakened from a deep sleep by the sound of screeching tires outside.
    — Matt Tunseth, Anchorage Daily News, 27 May 2018
  • To make the humans happy, the screeching white feather balls got names.
    — Tom Leyden, Indianapolis Star, 5 June 2018
  • A number of spectators milled around in the street as the car screeched in circles around them.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2023
  • Officer Pagano’s squad car screeched to a halt, blocking my path.
    — Washington Post, 12 Nov. 2019
  • Chair legs screech against it throughout the evening like fingernails on a blackboard.
    — Steven Stolman, Town & Country, 7 Sep. 2018
  • At what felt like its peak intensity, the winds screeched and howled like jets, and water swamped some homes.
    — Grace Garces Bordallo and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Anchorage Daily News, 25 May 2023
  • The frightened driver screeched to a stop at a red light, jumped out of the cab, and gestured toward its rear.
    — Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 19 June 2019
  • And then, a mile away from my exit, with the blazing sun high in the sky, traffic came to screeching halt.
    — Crystal Paul, The Seattle Times, 7 Aug. 2018
  • The silence was abruptly broken by the screeching cry of my kettle.
    — Mandy Lee, Bon Appétit, 7 Oct. 2019
  • Seated in a jeep and clutching a screeching Geiger counter, Lt.
    — Sergei L. Loiko, latimes.com, 30 June 2019
  • Then another plane came screeching down the runway, and the process began again.
    — Julia Sclafani and Jordan Cutler-Tietjen, sacbee, 3 July 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'screech.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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