Stridor is a noun that refers to a harsh, grating sound.

The Latin word stridere (STREE dare ay) means ‘to creak.’ Around the mid 17th century, this word was imported into English and became our word of the day, which is a synonym of creak or other harsh sounds.

The stridor coming from my car’s engine irked me on the road trip. Imagine a harsh creak for four hours. That’s describes my road trip through South Dakota.