eek

E1E1K5
UK/iːk/US/ik/

interjection

Representing a scream or shriek (especially in comic strips and books).

“Eek! There's a mouse in the bathtub!”

Less commonScrabble 7

Meanings

eek1

interjection
  1. onomatopoeicRepresenting a scream or shriek (especially in comic strips and books).

    Eek! There's a mouse in the bathtub!

  2. onomatopoeicExpressing (sometimes mock) fear or surprise.

    I almost got fired from my job yesterday. Eek!

  3. onomatopoeicRepresenting the shrill vocal sound of a mouse, rat, or monkey.
verbeek (third-person singular simple present eeks, present participle eeking, simple past and past participle eeked)

present singular third person eeks · participle present eeking · participle past eeked · past eeked

  1. onomatopoeicTo produce a high-pitched squeal, as in fear or trepidation.

    We saw a frog and she eeked in terror again from the sight of it hopping near her.

    2011, Isaac E. Washington, The Stars in My Dreams, page 106
    2 more examples

    She was dangling the mouse by its tail, but as it tried to arch upwards and bite, she started to jig about wildly […] The anglers had watched a beautiful young woman dance naked beneath a full moon to the feverish rhythm of unworldly eeking noises!

    2009, Paul Gelder, Yachting Monthly's Further Confessions

    “Sorry, love, they all look the same to me,” said Dad, desperately trying to spot one with a particularly pink nose. “Armitage? ARMITAGE!” called Zoe. All the rats eeked. Every single one of them wanted to escape. “We’ll just have to set them all free,” said Zoe.

    2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN
  2. ethnicoffensiveonomatopoeicslangslurOf a black person, to speak nonsense or gibberish.
nouneek (plural eeks)

plural eeks

  1. onomatopoeicA high-pitched squeal, as in fear or trepidation.
    1 more example

    He tried desperately to read into Le Chiffre's face what was happening behind him, but all he saw was blind incomprehension and terror. Le Chiffre's mouth worked, but only a high-pitched ‘eek’ came from it. His heavy cheeks trembled as he tried to collect enough saliva in his mouth to say something, ask something.

    1953, Ian Fleming, “A Crag-like Face”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 128

eek2

nouneek (plural eeks)

plural eeks

  1. PolarionomatopoeicA face.

    How bona to vada your eek!

    How good to see your face!

    3 more examples

    You have your Elizabeth Taylor done in half-tones, reclining on this chaise longue – that’s your actual French – decollete down to her ankles, with a wanton look all over her eek.

    1966, Barry Took, Marty Feldman, Round the Horne, season 2, spoken by either Julian or Sandy (either Hugh Paddick or Kenneth Williams)

    Though she's a bimbo bit of hard, / she’s royal and tart. And girl, you know / vadaing her eek is always bona.

    2015 October 12, Adam Lowe, “Poem of the week: Vada That”, in The Guardian

    [H]e plonked his corybungus down and turned his eek to the driver.

    2021, Daren Kay, “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”, in The Brightonians (ebook)

    Synonyms: countenance

eek3

adverbeek (not comparable)
  1. alternativenot comparableonomatopoeicAlternative form of eke (“also”).

Eek4

proper noun

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA face.

Origin

eek · interjection, verb, noun

Imitative

Full word history & related roots →

eek · noun

Clipping of ecaf (“face”), from face via backslang.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish iik
  • iikscream or shriek
French hiii
  • hiiiscream or shriek
Spanish chirrido, alalao
  • chirridoscream or shriek
  • alalaoscream or shriek
  • alalauscream or shriek
  • alalayscream or shriek

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with eek

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

eek. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eek

MLA

“eek.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eek. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eek,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eek.

Source: eek on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.