From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishscreamscream1 /skriːm/ ●●● S3 verb 1 [intransitive]SCREAM 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 babyscream 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.► see thesaurus at shout2 [intransitive, transitive] (also scream out)SCREAM 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]C to make a very loud high noise The police car approached, its siren screaming.COLLOCATIONSadverbsscream loudlyI 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.phrasesscream with laughter/delightShe threw her head back and screamed with laughter.scream in/with painWe could hear her screaming in pain.scream in terror/agony etcHe 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. → See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
scream• "Go away!" she screamed• The man pulled a gun, and two of the women near me started screaming.• The police car sped around the corner with its siren screaming.• There was a loud bang, and people started screaming.• "Help me!" she screamed.• When she saw Quinn, she dropped the bag and screamed.• ``Get out!'' she screamed.• Everyone panicked, and people started screaming.• Some one screamed, a high shrill piercing noise that caused her to break out in goose pimples.• Maria felt like screaming at her husband.• Sammy screamed at me to stay back.• Let him scream for a while.• The boy screamed for help.• Their brethren had fled screaming from the battlefield.• Adam screamed, loud and violent, in his attempt to absorb the pain.• He would scream obscenities, loud enough to scare me half to death just by the sound of them.• They are doing exactly what they are screaming others are doing to them.• And yet I would marvel as he accepted police escorts to whisk him past screaming teenyboppers to court at Wimbledon.• As a child, I used to wake up screaming with terror in the middle of the night.• She woke up screaming with terror.scream with/in• I remember that volley though both feet off the ground, it screamed in.• But screaming in a corporation, even in a corporation as Neanderthalish as Salomon, was counterproductive.• One side of her screamed with delight.• As she screamed in pain they stole a necklace she was wearing.• She lay in the street, screaming with pain.• But just as he put the rope over his head, he screamed in terror and threw his arms above his head.• The little children screamed in the road.• Some judges have imposed such orders to deal with aggressive protesters who push and shove patients and scream in their faces.scream for• I screamed for help.screamscream2 ●●● S3 noun [countable] 1 SCREAMa 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 Ca very loud high sound the scream of a jet taking off3 → a screamCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesa loud screamSuddenly 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 screamMrs 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.verbslet out a screamHe let out a piercing scream.give a screamShe gave a scream of delight.phrasesa scream of laughter/delightWe could hear the children’s screams of laughter.a scream of pain/terror/agonyMy screams of terror awoke my parents. Examples from the Corpus
scream• Charlie gave a scream of delight as he opened the present.• A gun went off, and I heard a scream of fear from inside the room.• There was a scream of pain.• We could hear screams coming from inside the blazing building.• Then she gave a little scream of happiness.• She was pondering this in a panic, when she heard the scream of the children and the sound of feet running.• The battlefield echoed with the screams of the wounded and the dying.• Their screams of horror and cries for mercy only brought a smile to my face.let out ... scream• He let out a scream of terror.• At this point, you will let out a scream suggesting that some one has just blown off your toe with a. 45.Origin scream2 (1200-1300) Perhaps from Middle Dutch schreem 