Library / English Dictionary

SHRIEK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sharp piercing cry

Example:

her screaming attracted the neighbors

Synonyms:

scream; screaming; screech; screeching; shriek; shrieking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("shriek" is a kind of...):

call; cry; outcry; shout; vociferation; yell (a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition)

Derivation:

shriek (utter a shrill cry)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A high-pitched noise resembling a human cry

Example:

he heard the scream of the brakes

Synonyms:

scream; screaming; screech; screeching; shriek; shrieking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("shriek" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Derivation:

shriek (utter a shrill cry)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Utter a shrill cry

Synonyms:

pipe; pipe up; shriek; shrill

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "shriek" is one way to...):

call; cry; holler; hollo; scream; shout; shout out; squall; yell (utter a sudden loud cry)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shriek"):

caterwaul; yowl (utter shrieks, as of cats)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence examples:

The birds shriek in the woods

The woods shriek with many kinds of birds

Derivation:

shriek (sharp piercing cry)

shriek (a high-pitched noise resembling a human cry)

shrieking (sharp piercing cry)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He caught it up, devoured it with his eyes, and then danced madly about the room, pressing it to his bosom and shrieking out in his delight.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Strike at the noble and the priest shrieks, strike at priest and the noble lays his hand upon glaive.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For two days and nights this express car was dragged along at the tail of shrieking locomotives; and for two days and nights Buck neither ate nor drank.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The maids shrieked, and then went in a body to the dining-room; and I laid what flowers I had on my dear mother's breast.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

What went on there, Meg could not see, but shrieks of laughter were heard, followed by the murmur of voices and a great flapping of newspapers.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Sometimes, when a soft southland dog went down, shrieking its death-cry under the fangs of the pack, this man would be unable to contain himself, and would leap into the air and cry out with delight.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Their visit was not so still as Miss Ingram's had been: we heard hysterical giggling and little shrieks proceeding from the library; and at the end of about twenty minutes they burst the door open, and came running across the hall, as if they were half-scared out of their wits.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

At last—I think it was on the third night—the doctor and I were strolling on the shoulder of the hill where it overlooks the lowlands of the isle, when, from out the thick darkness below, the wind brought us a noise between shrieking and singing.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“Fan ’em, Jack! Fan ’em!” shrieked the lady.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“For God’s sake, have mercy!” he shrieked.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)