squelch

verb

1. (US, transitive)To halt, stop, eliminate, stamp out, or put down, often suddenly or by force.

   “Even the king's announcement could not squelch the rumors.”

   “Oh 'twas your luck and mine to be squelched.”

   “If you deceive us you will be squelched.”

   “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.”

   “We believe that Facebook is using privacy as a pretext to squelch research that it considers inconvenient.”

2. (transitive)To suppress the unwanted hiss or static between received transmissions by adjusting a threshold level for signal strength.
3. (British, intransitive)To make a sucking, splashing noise as when walking on muddy ground.

   “The mud squelched underfoot; it had been raining all night.”

   “[After they both fell into the lake.] Reaching the mainland some moments later and squelching back to the house, accompanied by Bobbie, like a couple of Napoleons squelching back from Moscow, [...]”

4. (British, intransitive)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. (countable, uncountable)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)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.”