shriek

/ʃɹiːk/

//ʃɹiːk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shriek" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shriek” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,088. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#39,088
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shriek · shriek · English

shriek · rank #39,088 · 9 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #39,088
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH singularly

Nearest frequency peer: singularly (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “shriek”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “shriek” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shriek vs shrimp
67% similar
shriek vs shrine
67% similar
shriek vs shrink
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shriek
PropertyValue
Headwordshriek
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃɹiːk/
Letters6
Frequency rank#39,088
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shriek”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).shrieklands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “singularly” (#39,090), “shaves” (#39,085), “sinkhole” (#39,091). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shriek” is #39,088. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around shriek (IPA /ʃɹiːk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #39,088 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for shriek, with forms such as "hsriek", "shhriek", and "shirek". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "shrimp", "shrine", "shrink", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From obsolete shrick (1567), shreke, variants of earlier screak, skricke (before 1500), from Middle English scrycke, from a North Germanic/Scandinavian language (compare Swedish skrika, Danish skrige, Icelandic skríkja), from Proto-Germanic *skrīkijaną, *sk… The correct English form is shriek, spelled S-H-R-I-E-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.
  2. 2
    An exclamation mark.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shriek appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Shrieks, clamours, murmurs, fill the frighted town.
  2. Sabor, the lioness, was a wise hunter. To one less wise the wild alarm of her fierce cry as she sprang would have seemed a foolish thing, for could she not more surely have fallen upon her victims had she but quietly leaped without that loud shriek?

Etymology

From obsolete shrick (1567), shreke, variants of earlier screak, skricke (before 1500), from Middle English scrycke, from a North Germanic/Scandinavian language (compare Swedish skrika, Danish skrige, Icelandic skríkja), from Proto-Germanic *skrīkijaną, *skrik- (compare English screech). More at screech.

This word in other languages

alarido(Español)hurlement(Français)Kreischen(Deutsch)guincho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsriek
  • shhriek
  • shirek
  • shreik
  • shriekk
  • shrike
  • shrriek
  • srhiek
  • sshriek

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shriek - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hsriek2shhriek1shirek2shreik2shriekk1shrike2shrriek1srhiek2
Edit distance from "shriek"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shriek"?
"shriek" is spelled S-H-R-I-E-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃɹiːk/.
What does "shriek" mean?
As a noun, "shriek" means: A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.
What words are commonly confused with "shriek"?
"shriek" is commonly confused with "shrimp", "shrine", "shrink". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shriek"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shriek" is /ʃɹiːk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shriek"?
From obsolete shrick (1567), shreke, variants of earlier screak, skricke (before 1500), from Middle English scrycke, from a North Germanic/Scandinavian language (compare Swedish skrika, Danish skrige, Icelandic skríkja), from Proto-Germanic *skrīk... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shriek", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shaves#39,085skimpy#39,092sedate#39,081rimmed#39,061

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

resold9 variantsquickie9 variantsplaning9 variantspanning9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list