squeak

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skwiːk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːk

Noun

squeak (countable and uncountable, plural squeaks)

1. (countable) A short, high-pitched sound, as of two objects rubbing together, or the sounds made by mice and other small animals.
2. (uncountable, games) A card game similar to group solitaire.
3. (countable, slang) A narrow squeak.
   • 1905, E. W. Hornung, A Thief in the Night:

     "I had the very devil of a squeak for it," he went on. "I did the hurdles over two or three garden-walls, but so did the flyer who was on my tracks, and he drove me back into the straight and down to High Street like any lamplighter. […]

Derived terms

• pip-squeak

 

Translations

short, high-pitched sound

• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: تزييق m (tazyīʔ)

• Bulgarian: писък (bg) m (pisǎk)
• Catalan: xerric (ca) m
• French: grincement (fr) m, crissement (fr) m, craquement (fr)
• German: Gequieke n, Gequietsche n, Knarren (de) n, Piepsen n, Quietschen n
• Irish: gíog f
• Italian: squittio (it) m
• Japanese: チューチュー (chūchū)
• Maori: koekoe, kotokoto
• Polish: pisk (pl) m
• Portuguese: guincho (pt) m
• Russian: (creak) скрип (ru) m (skrip), (peep, chirp) писк (ru) m (pisk)
• Spanish: chirrido (es)
• Swedish: pip
• Tagalog: irit
• Turkish: cırlama (tr), cıyaklama (tr), gıcırdama (tr)
• Vietnamese: chít chít
• Zazaki: zıren

Verb

squeak (third-person singular simple present squeaks, present participle squeaking, simple past and past participle squeaked)

1. (intransitive) To emit a short, high-pitched sound.
   • 2014 August 17, Jeff Howell, “Home improvements: Repairing and replacing floorboards [print version: Never buy anything from a salesman, 16 August 2014, p. P7]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property)‎^[1]:

     But I must warn you that chipboard floors are always likely to squeak. The material is still being used in new-builds, but developers now use adhesive to bed and joint it, rather than screws or nails. I suspect the adhesive will eventually embrittle and crack, resulting in the same squeaking problems as before.

2. (intransitive, slang) To inform, to squeal.
   • 1690, [John] Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: […], London: […] Jo. Hindmarsh, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):

     If he be obstinate, put a civil question to him upon the rack, and he squeaks, I warrant him.

3. (transitive) To speak or sound in a high-pitched manner.
4. (intransitive, games) To empty the pile of 13 cards a player deals to oneself in the card game of the same name.
5. (intransitive, informal) To win or progress by a narrow margin.
   • 1999, Surfer, volume 40, numbers 7-12:

     […] allowing Parkinson to squeak into the final by a half-point margin.

   • 2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup final: New Zealand 8-7 France”, in BBC Sport‎^[2]:

     France were transformed from the feeble, divided unit that had squeaked past Wales in the semi-final, their half-backs finding the corners with beautifully judged kicks from hand, the forwards making yards with every drive and a reorganised Kiwi line-out beginning to malfunction.

Synonyms

• (to inform): drop a dime, grass up, snitch; See also Thesaurus:rat out

Derived terms

• bubble and squeak
• squeak by
• squeaker
• squeakish
• squeak out
• squeak through
• squeaky
• until the pips squeak

 

Translations

emit sound

• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: يزيق m (yezáyyaʔ), تزيق f (tezáyyaʔ), يزيقوا m (yezayyáʔu)

• Bulgarian: пискам (bg) (piskam), скърцам (bg) (skǎrcam)
• Cornish: gwihal
• Dutch: piepen (nl)
• Finnish: vinkua (fi), kitistä (fi)
• French: craquer (fr), crisser (fr), grincer (fr), couiner (fr), piailler (fr)
• Galician: rechiar, chirlar (gl), renxer (gl), cantar (gl) (an axletree)
• German: knarren (de), piepsen (de) n, quietschen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: τρίζω (trízō)

• Ingrian: kirissä, piikkaa
• Irish: gíog
• Italian: squittire (it)
• Maori: koekoe, tētē, tītī, kotokoto (Of a mouse)
• Norman: grînchi
• Polish: piszczeć (pl) impf
• Portuguese: guinchar (pt)
• Russian: пища́ть (ru) (piščátʹ)
• Spanish: rechinar (es)
• Swedish: pipa (sv)
• Turkish: cırlamak (tr), cıyaklamak (tr), gıcırdamak (tr)
• Welsh: gwichian (cy)
• Yiddish: קװיטשען (kwitshen)

inform

• Bulgarian: доноснича (bg) (donosniča)
• Finnish: vasikoida (fi), juoruta (fi)
• Hungarian: köp (hu), beköp (hu)
• Swedish: gola (sv)

Anagrams

• quakes