# shriek

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃɹiːk/ · frequency rank #39,088

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

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **shrimp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shriek-vs-shrimp)
- **shrine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shriek-vs-shrine)
- **shrink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shriek-vs-shrink)
- **shrunk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shriek-vs-shrunk)
- **shrill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shriek-vs-shrill)
- **shriver** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shriek-vs-shriver)
- **Shri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shri-vs-shriek)
- **Shek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shek-vs-shriek)
- **serie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serie-vs-shriek)
- **shred** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-shriek)
- **Shrek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrek-vs-shriek)
- **sheik** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheik-vs-shriek)
- **shrew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrew-vs-shriek)
- **shirk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shirk-vs-shriek)
- **series** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/series-vs-shriek)
- **shrank** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrank-vs-shriek)

## Common misspellings (9)
`hsriek`, `shhriek`, `shirek`, `shreik`, `shriekk`, `shrike`, `shrriek`, `srhiek`, `sshriek`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shriek