From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsqueaksqueak1 /skwiːk/ ●●○ verb 1 SOUND[intransitive] to make a short high noise or cry that is not loud A rat squeaked and ran into the bushes. The door squeaked open.2 [intransitive, transitive] to say something in a very high voice, especially because you are nervous or excited ‘Too late!’ she squeaked.3 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] informalJUST/ALMOST NOT to succeed, win, or pass a test by a very small amount so that you only just avoid failure SYN scrapesqueak through/by/past/in She just squeaked through her math test.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
squeak• Is that your chair squeaking?• He pinched the last quarter inch of his cigarette tightly, and sucked on it so hard it squeaked.• The door doesn't squeak, either, and it's ever so quiet and peaceful.• How the sly one squeaked, howled, sizzled, hissed, and swelled his hairy carapace!• If he had, Burke's kick might have squeaked in.• His chair squeaked loudly as he swivelled round to face me.• Kramer's running shoes squeaked on the marble floor.• The rubber soles of my shoes squeaked on the shiny floor.• There has also been a miraculous rise of the Liberals from the ashes - they may just squeak past 5 percent themselves.• A fourth squeaked through on a single disputed vote.• The front door squeaks to a close and eyes need a few seconds to adjust to the dim interior.squeak through/by/past/in• There has also been a miraculous rise of the Liberals from the ashes - they may just squeak past 5 percent themselves.• If he had, Burke's kick might have squeaked in.• The irony of all this is that he scored incredibly high on the LSATs, and I just squeaked by.• New York Head Start programs also were squeaking by, but funding could dry up by the end of January.• As it squeaked past he darted out of his hiding place and leapt on to it, squeezing himself amongst the bottles.• The bedsprings squeaked in mousy protest.• A fourth squeaked through on a single disputed vote.• But legislation authorizing the tax cut squeaked through the Republican-controlled Assembly and was blocked by Senate Democrats.squeaksqueak2 noun [countable] 1 HIGH SOUND OR VOICESOUNDa very short high noise or cry SYN squealsqueak of a squeak of alarm the high-pitched squeak of a bat► see thesaurus at sound2 → not a squeakExamples from the Corpus
squeak• Three rides he had today, for three different trainers, and not one of them had a squeak.• Not a squeak did we hear.• Why are their forays to and above the leaf surface accompanied by squeaks and peeps?• It was a narrow squeak for the mahogany glider.• Complaints: Occasional squeaks emanating from front breaks.• The only sound is the soft squeak of the marker on the board.• The rest of us heard a thin squeak, and started calling for her as she had vanished from sight.• Bats flittered about him; their warning squeaks sounded like chalk on a blackboard.• What seemed a single animal is now known to be two, distinct in their genes and with squeaks of different pitch.Origin squeak1 (1300-1400) From the sound