hum vs screech

hum

verb
  • To express by humming. 

  • To produce low sounds which blend continuously 

  • To reek, smell bad. 

  • To make a sound from the vocal chords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed. 

  • To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly 

  • To buzz, be busily active like a beehive 

noun
  • Unpleasant odour. 

  • A phenomenon, or collection of phenomena, involving widespread reports of a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming, rumbling, or droning noise not audible to all people. 

  • Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive. 

  • A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed. 

  • An often indistinct sound resembling human humming. 

intj
  • Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c. 

  • Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c. 

screech

verb
  • To make such a sound. 

  • To travel very fast, as if making the sounds of brakes being released. 

noun
  • A form of home-made rye whiskey made from used oak rye barrels from a distillery. 

  • A high-pitched strident or piercing sound, such as that between a moving object and any surface. 

  • Newfoundland rum. 

  • A harsh, shrill cry, as of one in acute pain or in fright; a shriek; a scream. 

How often have the words hum and screech occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )