<p><strong>noun</strong></p><ul><li>a loud, sharp, shrill cry.</li><li>Synonyms: screech, scream.</li><li>a loud, high sound of laughter.</li><li>any loud, shrill sound, as of a whistle.</li></ul><p><strong>verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used without object) to utter a loud, sharp, shrill cry, as birds.</li><li>to cry out sharply in a high voice: to shriek with pain.</li><li>Synonyms: screech, scream.</li><li>to utter loud, high-pitched sounds in laughing.</li><li>(of a musical instrument, a whistle, the wind, etc.) to give forth a loud, shrill sound.</li><li>(used with object) to utter in a shriek: to shriek defiance.</li></ul>