Word.ws English Dictionary

the squeaky wheel gets the grease

the squeaky wheel gets the grease proverb: the person who complains or speaks up most loudly receives the redress or attention which they seek.

Proverb

the squeaky wheel gets the grease

  1. The person who complains or speaks up most loudly receives the redress or attention which they seek.
    • I think it's true what they say about the squeaky wheel / Always getting the grease1979, James Taylor, “Shower the People”, in In the Pocket, →OCLC
    • You know perfectly well that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and that if you don't complain nothing ever changes.1995, Roger Zelazny, Robert Sheckley, A Farce To Be Reckoned With, Bantam, →ISBN, page 13

Forms of the squeaky wheel gets the grease

alternative formthe squeaky wheel gets the oil

Words formed from the squeaky wheel gets the grease

Questions about the squeaky wheel gets the grease

What does the squeaky wheel gets the grease mean?
The squeaky wheel gets the grease means the person who complains or speaks up most loudly receives the redress or attention which they seek.
What part of speech is the squeaky wheel gets the grease?
The squeaky wheel gets the grease is a proverb.

Words near the squeaky wheel gets the grease in the dictionary

  1. the spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak
  2. the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
  3. the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak
  4. the spirit moves someone
  5. the spoils belong to the victor
  6. the squeaky wheel gets the grease
  7. the squeaky wheel gets the oil
  8. the squirts
  9. the sticks
  10. The Storm
  11. the story goes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the squeaky wheel gets the grease (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)-Sapaa-the squeaky wheel gets the grease.wav.

Cite this entry: “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/the_squeaky_wheel_gets_the_grease. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.