squeaky wheel
squeaky wheel noun: a complainer; one who speaks out when there are problems (often pejorative).
Noun
squeaky wheel (plural squeaky wheels)
- A complainer; one who speaks out when there are problems (often pejorative).
- When I went to those who we needed to get the resources from, I got the title of being the squeaky wheel. Everyone is not going to be a squeaky wheel, but I believe that if we want something and are persistent enough, we will get it...1997, Lauch Faircloth, editor, Hud Rebuilding and Loan Guaranty Program
- Synonyms:
- spokesperson, troublemaker, whiner
- Of several problems, the most apparent or the most urgent.
- And it is pretty hard to get government, as you know, ahead of the curve. We always respond to the squeaky wheel when things get bad, but you know, clearly there is food for thought in the observation of where we are in our commodity industries.1999, State of the Petroleum Industry; Hearing the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, U.S. Senate
Synonyms of squeaky wheel
Forms of squeaky wheel
| plural | squeaky wheels |
|---|
Origin of squeaky wheel
From the proverb "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"/oil.
Questions about squeaky wheel
- What does squeaky wheel mean?
- Squeaky wheel means a complainer; one who speaks out when there are problems (often pejorative).
- What part of speech is squeaky wheel?
- Squeaky wheel is a noun.
- What is the plural of squeaky wheel?
- The plural of squeaky wheel is squeaky wheels.
Words near squeaky wheel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: squeaky wheel (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-squeaky wheel.wav.
Cite this entry: “squeaky wheel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/squeaky_wheel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.