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Dictionary Language resources

screed

Syllabification: (screed)

Pronunciation: /skrēd/

Definition of screed

noun

1a long speech or piece of writing, typically one regarded as tedious.

2a leveled layer of material (e.g., cement) applied to a floor or other surface.
a strip of plaster or other material placed on a surface as a guide to thickness.

verb

[with object]

level (a floor or layer of concrete) with a straight edge using a back and forth motion while moving across the surface.

Origin:

Middle English: probably a variant of the noun shred. The early sense was 'fragment cut from a main piece', then 'torn strip, tatter', whence (via the notion of a long roll or list) screed (sense 1 of the noun)