High-pitched, thin sounds made by something, or to make such sounds; also a narrow escape from trouble.
From Middle English 'squeken,' likely imitative in origin—the sound resembles the actual noise. It entered English around the 15th century.
A 'squeak' is one of the few words that sounds like what it means, but here's the fascinating part: a 'narrow squeak' (close escape) comes from the idea of something passing through so tightly it makes a squeaking sound!
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