screech
part of speech
verb (screech, screeches, screeched, screeching); noun (a screech, screeches)
meaning for a pupil
1) To screech is to make a very loud, high, harsh sound, like a scared bird or a person screaming. tree →
2) When tyres or brakes screech, they make a sharp, scraping noise as a car stops suddenly. tree →
3) A screech is one such loud, high, unpleasant sound. tree →
4) «Screech to a halt» means to stop very suddenly, often with that noise. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories «screech» tells the reader something sudden, scary or out of control: an owl in the night, brakes before a crash, a frightened person. In road safety, screeching brakes warn that a car is stopping hard. A barn owl is also called a screech owl in some places. Common phrases: «screech to a halt», «let out a screech».
examples
- The owl screeched in the dark wood. tree →
- The car screeched to a halt at the crossing. tree →
- My little sister screeched when she saw the spider. tree →
- We heard the screech of brakes outside school. tree →
- The chalk made a horrible screech on the board. tree →
- Parrots screech when they are excited. tree →
- The train screeched into the station. tree →
- She let out a screech of laughter. tree →
- Peter thimbled her, and almost immediately she screeched. “What is it, Wendy?” tree →
note
Regular verb: screeched. Close in meaning to «shriek» and «scream», but «screech» is harsher and more like a scraping noise; machines and birds screech, people shriek or scream more often. «Screech» can be noun or verb.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «screech» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.