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scream.

A loud, emphatic, exclamation of extreme emotion, especially horror, fear, excitement, or anger; it may comprise a word or a sustained, high-pitched vowel sound.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/skɹiːm/Received-Pronunciation
  1. A loud, emphatic, exclamation of extreme emotion, especially horror, fear, excitement, or anger; it may comprise a word or a sustained, high-pitched vowel sound.

  2. A loud vocalisation of many animals, especially in response to pain or fear.

  3. A form of singing associated with the metal and screamo styles of music. It is a loud, rough, distorted version of the voice; rather than the normal voice of the singer.

  4. Used as an intensifier.

    informal
    We had a real scream of a time at the beach.
  5. An exclamation mark.

Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English scremen, borrowed from or cognate with Middle Dutch scremen (“to yell; shout”) and Old Norse skræma (“to terrify; scare”); compare West Flemish schreemen, Zealandic schreême (“to shout; yell; cry”), Swedish skrämma (“to spook; frighten”), Danish skræmme (“to scare”), West Frisian skrieme (“to weep”). Compare also Swedish skräna (“to yell; shout; howl”), Dutch schreien (“to cry; weep”), German schreien (“to scream”). Related to shriek, skrike.

verb/skɹiːm/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek.

    also · figuratively · intransitive
  2. To move quickly; to race.

    figuratively · intransitive
    He almost hit a pole, the way he came screaming down the hill.
  3. To be very indicative of; clearly having the characteristics of.

    figuratively · informal · intransitive
    Do you know what screams "I’m obnoxious"? People who feel the need to comment on every little thing they notice.
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English scremen, borrowed from or cognate with Middle Dutch scremen (“to yell; shout”) and Old Norse skræma (“to terrify; scare”); compare West Flemish schreemen, Zealandic schreême (“to shout; yell; cry”), Swedish skrämma (“to spook; frighten”), Danish skræmme (“to scare”), West Frisian skrieme (“to weep”). Compare also Swedish skräna (“to yell; shout; howl”), Dutch schreien (“to cry; weep”), German schreien (“to scream”). Related to shriek, skrike.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.