0 past simple and past participle of screech
1 to make an unpleasant, loud, high noise:
The owl screeched in the trees.
It is a quiet bird, particularly for an icterid, but the male has an unpleasant screeched whistle, "shweeaa-tpic-tpic".
When the train finally screeched to a halt, a car door was still lodged in the train's front.
It screeched and showed its teeth when its head was pressed.
In his own words he shouted and screeched without stopping, and within 20 minutes was picked up in an almost unconscious condition by the ship's boat.