skrike

S1K5R1I1K5E1
/skɹaɪk/

verb

To cry, sob, cry out or yell; to scream.

“c 1573, attested by J. Raine at what tyme the said Herrison wyfe gave a skrike.”

OriginMiddle English skriken ← Old Norse skríkja →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

skrike1

verbskrike (third-person singular simple present skrikes, present participle skriking, simple past and past participle skriked)

present singular third person skrikes · participle present skriking · participle past skriked · past skriked

  1. UKregionalTo cry, sob, cry out or yell; to scream.

    It's not as if you're skriking brats.

    1973, Alan Garner, Red Shift
    1 more example

    The yells and yammering, croaking, jibbering and jabbering; howls, growls and curses; shrieking and skriking, that followed were beyond description.

    1937, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

skrike2

nounskrike (plural skrikes)

plural skrikes

  1. UKregionalA cry or scream.

    c 1573, attested by J. Raine at what tyme the said Herrison wyfe gave a skrike.

    1 more example

    Aw gav a skrike.

    1824, Allan's Tynside Songs, page 182
  2. UKdialectalThe mistle thrush.

Origin

skrike · verb

  1. Old Norseskríkja“to scream”
  2. Middle Englishskriken
  3. Englishskrike

From Middle English skriken, a borrowing from Old Norse skríkja (“to scream”) (compare Old English sċrīċ, sċrēċ > English shriek/screech), literally "bird with a shrill call," referring to a thrush, possibly imitative of its call. Attested from c 1573.

More words from Middle English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

skrike · noun

  1. Middle Englishskrike
  2. Englishskrike

From Middle English skrike, scryke (also skryche, schryke, shryke). Cognate with Old Frisian skrichte, Middle Low German schrichte.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

skrike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skrike

MLA

“skrike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skrike. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skrike,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skrike.

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