squelch

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps a blend of squash + quell + quench. Compare also English squolsh, English squoosh.

verb

1. (transitive, US) To halt, stop, eliminate, stamp out, or put down, often suddenly or by force.
   Even the king's announcement could not squelch the rumors.
   The party’s dominant right wing squelched not only Sherman’s hopes for an early convention, but may have also put the MLA out of contention for the leadership. 1982-12-11, Frances Russell, “Economic performance buoys Pawley’s position”, in The Vancouver Sun (The Weekend Sun), Vancouver, BC, page A6
   We believe that Facebook is using privacy as a pretext to squelch research that it considers inconvenient. 2021-08-10, Laura Edelson, Damon McCoy, “We Research Misinformation on Facebook. It Just Disabled Our Accounts.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
2. (transitive, radio technology) To suppress the unwanted hiss or static between received transmissions by adjusting a threshold level for signal strength.
3. (intransitive, Britain) To make a sucking, splashing noise as when walking on muddy ground.
   The mud squelched underfoot; it had been raining all night.
4. (intransitive, Britain) To walk or step through a substance such as mud.
   The mud was thick and sticky underfoot, but we squelched through it nonetheless.

noun

1. (countable) A squelching sound.
2. (radio technology) The suppression of the unwanted hiss or static between received transmissions by adjusting the gain of the receiver.
3. (countable, dated) A heavy blow or fall.
4. (countable, music) A kind of electronic beat or sound mainly used in acid house and related music genres.
   Through a process of experimentation the 'acid squelch' sound came forth, which was recorded and passed on to DJ Ron Hardy to play at his Warehouse club. 1998, Colin Larkin, The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music, page 91