— squelcher , n. — squelchingly , adv. — squelchingness , n.
/skwelch/ , v.t.
1. to strike or press with crushing force; crush down; squash.
2. to put down, suppress, or silence, as with a crushing retort or argument.
v.i.
3. to make a splashing sound.
4. to tread heavily in water, mud, wet shoes, etc., with such a sound.
n.
5. a squelched or crushed mass of anything.
6. a splashing sound.
7. an act of squelching or suppressing, as by a crushing retort or argument.
8. Also called squelch circuit, noise suppressor . Electronics. a circuit in a receiver, as a radio receiver, that automatically reduces or eliminates noise when the receiver is tuned to a frequency at which virtually no carrier wave occurs.
[ 1610-20; var. of quelch in same sense (perh. b. QUELL and QUASH); initial s perh. from SQUASH 1 ]