squeak
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Pronunciation
Noun
squeak (countable and uncountable, plural squeaks)
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The squeak of a guinea pig
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- (countable) A short, high-pitched sound, as of two objects rubbing together, or the sounds made by mice and other small animals.
- (uncountable, games) A card game similar to group solitaire.
- (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
Translations
short, high-pitched sound
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Verb
squeak (third-person singular simple present squeaks, present participle squeaking, simple past and past participle squeaked)
- (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):
- 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.
- (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.
- (transitive) To speak or sound in a high-pitched manner.
- (intransitive, games) To empty the pile of 13 cards a player deals to oneself in the card game of the same name.
- (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:
- 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
Translations
emit sound
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Anagrams
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