I. scream 1 S3 /skriːm/ BrE AmE verb
1 . [intransitive] to make a loud high noise with your voice because you are hurt, frightened, excited etc SYN shriek :
After the first few shots, people started screaming.
a screaming baby
scream with/in
She jumped to her feet, screaming in terror.
The children were screaming with laughter.
She was screaming her head off (=screaming a lot) .
She began to scream blue murder (=scream very loudly) .
He was dragged kicking and screaming to a nearby van.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] ( also scream out ) to shout something in a very loud high voice because you are angry or frightened SYN yell :
‘Get out!’ she screamed.
He screamed out her name.
scream for
I screamed for help.
scream at
He screamed at her to go away.
The crowd continued to scream abuse at him.
3 . [intransitive] to make a very loud high noise:
The police car approached, its siren screaming.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ scream loudly
I just screamed as loudly as I could.
▪ scream wildly (=in a loud and uncontrolled way)
Poor George, screaming wildly, was carried upstairs by his father.
▪ scream hysterically (=in a completely uncontrolled way)
Some of the girls started screaming hysterically.
■ phrases
▪ scream with laughter/delight
She threw her head back and screamed with laughter.
▪ scream in/with pain
We could hear her screaming in pain.
▪ scream in terror/agony etc
He screamed in fear and panic, and banged frantically on the door.
▪ scream your head off (=scream a lot)
At least the idiot wasn’t panicking and screaming his head off.
▪ scream blue murder informal (=scream very loudly with fear or anger)
She flew into a rage and screamed blue murder at him.
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THESAURUS
▪ shout to say something very loudly:
The two men were shouting angrily at each other.
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‘Wait for me!’ he shouted.
▪ yell ( also holler American English ) to shout very loudly, especially because you are angry, excited, or in pain. Yell is more informal than shout :
The children were yelling at each other across the street.
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‘Steve, are you there?’ Patti hollered up the stairs.
▪ call (out) to shout in order to get someone’s attention:
He called her name but she didn’t hear him.
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‘Is anybody there?’ he called out.
▪ cry (out) written to shout something loudly, especially because you are in pain, frightened, or very excited:
‘I can’t move,’ Lesley cried.
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He cried out in panic.
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‘Look what I’ve found!’ she cried.
▪ scream to shout in a very loud high voice, because you are frightened, unhappy, angry etc:
The baby wouldn’t stop screaming.
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She screamed as she jumped into the cold water.
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‘It’s my money!’ she screamed at him.
▪ roar written to shout in a loud deep voice:
The crowd roared their appreciation.
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‘Stop this nonsense!' he roared.
▪ bellow written to shout in a loud deep voice, especially when you want a lot of people to hear you:
He was bellowing orders at the soldiers.
▪ bawl to shout in a loud and unpleasant way, because you are angry or unhappy:
‘What are you doing?’ he bawled.
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The kids were bawling in the back of the car.
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She was always bawling at the children.
▪ raise your voice to say something more loudly than normal, especially because you are angry:
I never heard my father raise his voice.
▪ cheer if a group of people cheer, they shout as a way of showing their approval:
The crowd cheered when the band came on stage.
II. scream 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: Perhaps from Middle Dutch schreem ]
1 . a loud high sound that you make with your voice because you are hurt, frightened, excited etc SYN shriek :
We heard screams coming from the flat.
She saw the knife and let out a scream.
scream of laughter/terror etc
He fell back with a scream of terror and pain.
2 . a very loud high sound:
the scream of a jet taking off
3 . a scream informal someone or something that is very funny:
The film was a scream!
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a loud scream
Suddenly I heard a loud scream.
▪ a shrill/piercing/high-pitched scream (=with a very high sound)
The sound of gunfire mingled with the shrill screams of the injured.
▪ a bloodcurdling scream (=very frightening)
With a blood-curdling scream, he threw himself at Paul.
▪ a terrified scream (=by someone who is terrified)
I let out a terrified scream and scuttled down the stairs.
▪ a terrible scream (=by someone suffering great pain or fear)
We were woken late that night by the most terrible screams.
▪ a little scream
Mrs Wood gave a little scream.
▪ a muffled/stifled scream (=made quieter, for example by putting a hand over someone’s mouth)
No one heard her muffled screams.
■ verbs
▪ let out a scream
He let out a piercing scream.
▪ give a scream
She gave a scream of delight.
■ phrases
▪ a scream of laughter/delight
We could hear the children’s screams of laughter.
▪ a scream of pain/terror/agony
My screams of terror awoke my parents.