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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

squawk.

A shrill noise, especially made by a voice or bird. If made by a bird, it typically signals discomfort or anger; a yell, scream, or call.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/skwɔːk/Received-Pronunciation/skwoːk/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/skwɔk//skwɑk/cot-caught-merger
  1. A shrill noise, especially made by a voice or bird. If made by a bird, it typically signals discomfort or anger; a yell, scream, or call.

  2. A four-digit transponder code used by aircraft for identification or transmission of emergency signals.

  3. A complaint or objection.

    informal
  4. An issue or complaint related to aircraft maintenance.

  5. The American night heron.

  6. A warning message indicating a possible error.

    informal
Where this word comes from

First attested in 1821. Unknown, but probably of imitative origin (compare dialectal Italian squacco (“small-crested heron”) and English quack).

verb/skwɔːk/Received-Pronunciation/skwoːk/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/skwɔk//skwɑk/cot-caught-merger
  1. To make a squawking noise; to yell, scream, or call out shrilly.

  2. To speak out; to protest.

    intransitive · slang
  3. To report an infraction; to rat on or tattle; to disclose a secret.

    intransitive · slang
  4. To produce a warning message, indicating a possible error.

    informal · intransitive
  5. To set or transmit a four-digit transponder code. (Normally followed by the specific code in question.)

    After discovering that the hydraulic system is faulty, the pilots squawked 7700 and declared mayday.
  6. To back out in a mean way.

    US · dated · slang
Where this word comes from

First attested in 1821. Unknown, but probably of imitative origin (compare dialectal Italian squacco (“small-crested heron”) and English quack).

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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.