I. ˈskwelch noun
( -es )
Etymology: imitative
1.
a. : blow , buffet
b. : a dull heavy sound of or as if of a blow upon a soft body : thud
he heard … the squelch of turf as she ran toward him — Elizabeth Taylor
2. : a sound of or as if of semiliquid matter under suction
the squelch of mud
3.
a. : the act or an instance of suppressing
the producer … boldly ignored the squelch and went right ahead … in defiance of the industry's rules — Bosley Crowther
especially : squelcher
b. or squelch circuit : a circuit in an electronic receiver that cuts off the receiver entirely if the useful signal falls to too low a value and thereby avoids a situation where high noise signals are generated in the absence of wanted signals
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to fall or stamp on so as to crush : crush by weight dropped or pressed from above
b.
(1) : to completely suppress : quell
a spirit here which a thousand years of misery had not squelched — Henry Miller
only three amendments were suggested … and each was squelched after a brief word — Dorothy Kahn
(2) : silence
presiding at board meetings … and squelching shareholders in the middle of sentences — P.G.Wodehouse
2. : to cause to emit or move with a sucking sound
their broken shoes squelching water — Marcia Davenport
intransitive verb
1. : to emit a sound typical of an object being forcefully withdrawn from mire against the resistance of trapped air : emit a sucking or splashing sound
have manure in my shoes and hear it squelch as I walked — Dylan Thomas
2. : to move or proceed splashily in water, slush, or mire or with water or mud in one's shoes and produce a sucking or splashing sound
squelch through a miry farm gateway — Adrian Bell
his feet inside the sodden seaboots squelched icily whenever he moved — Nicholas Monsarrat