screed

[skreed]

noun

1. a long discourse or essay, especially a diatribe.

2. an informal letter, account, or other piece of writing.

3. Building Trades.

   1. a strip of plaster or wood applied to a surface to be plastered to serve as a guide for making a true surface.

   2. a wooden strip serving as a guide for making a true level surface on a concrete pavement or the like.

   3. a board or metal strip dragged across a freshly poured concrete slab to give it its proper level.

4. British Dialect.,  a fragment or shred, as of cloth.

5. Scot.

   1. a tear or rip, especially in cloth.

   2. a drinking bout.

verb (used with or without object)

1. Scot.,  to tear, rip, or shred, as cloth.

screed

/ skriːd /

noun

1. a long or prolonged speech or piece of writing

2. a strip of wood, plaster, or metal placed on a surface to act as a guide to the thickness of the cement or plaster coat to be applied

3. a mixture of cement, sand, and water applied to a concrete slab, etc, to give a smooth surface finish

4. a rent or tear or the sound produced by this

Word History and Origins

Origin of screed¹

1275–1325; Middle English screde torn fragment, irregular (with sc- for sh- ) representing Old English scrēade shred

Word History and Origins

Origin of screed¹

C14: probably variant of Old English scrēade _shred

Example Sentences

He delivered a screed on the history of the Middle East, telling his attorney, “Zionism is more inimical to me than communism is to you.”

From Los Angeles Times

He wrote screeds like “Is Jew-Controlled Hollywood Brainwashing Americans?” and threatened libel lawsuits against anyone — myself included — who dared point out that he was a racist.

From Los Angeles Times

Online trolls are depicted as monkeys in a lab typing screeds against Superman on social media!

From Salon

The suspected assailant, the only fatality, left a screed detailing violent beliefs against life and procreation.

From Salon

Belflower began the play as the #MeToo movement was gaining momentum, but she has too much humor and sympathy to write a programmatic screed.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• account 
• agenda 
• archive 
• ballot 
• bill 
• calendar 
• catalog 
• checklist 
• dictionary 
• directory 
• draft 
• file 
• index 
• inventory 
• lineup 
• listing 
• menu 
• poll 
• program 
• schedule