squeal.
A high-pitched sound, such as the scream of a child or a female person, or noisy worn-down brake pads.
Meaning & usage
A high-pitched sound, such as the scream of a child or a female person, or noisy worn-down brake pads.
The cry of a pig.
Where this word comes from
Inherited from Middle English squelen, probably from Old Norse skvala (“to squeal, bawl”), from Proto-Germanic *skwel- (“to chatter, babble, scream”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *skel-, from *kelh₁- (“to ring, resound, cry”). Compare Old Norse skval (“a squeal”, noun), Swedish skvallra (“to babble, chatter, tell on”).
To scream with a shrill, prolonged sound.
The children squealed with delight while opening their Christmas presents.
To make a squealing noise. (of an object)
The brakes squeal terribly.
To give sensitive information about someone to a third party; to rat on someone.
You'd better not squeal on me to the cops.
Where this word comes from
Inherited from Middle English squelen, probably from Old Norse skvala (“to squeal, bawl”), from Proto-Germanic *skwel- (“to chatter, babble, scream”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *skel-, from *kelh₁- (“to ring, resound, cry”). Compare Old Norse skval (“a squeal”, noun), Swedish skvallra (“to babble, chatter, tell on”).
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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.