screech

Definitions

1. 1.To utter a harsh, shrill cry; to make a sharp outcry, as in terror or acute pain; to scream; to shriek. "The screech owl, screeching loud." Shak.
2. 2.A harsh, shrill cry, as of one in acute pain or in fright; a shriek; a scream. Screech bird, or Screech thrush (Zoöl.), the fieldfare; -- so called from its harsh cry before rain. -- Screech rain. -- Screech hawk (Zoöl.), the European goatsucker; -- so called from its note. [Prov. Eng.] -- Screech owl. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American owl (Scops asio), either gray or reddish in color. (b) The European barn owl. The name is applied also to other species.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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• What does "screech" mean?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is screech.

• What is to utter a harsh, shrill cry; to make a sharp outcry, as in terror or acute pain; to scream; to shriek. "The screech owl, screeching loud." Shak called?