the squeaky wheel gets the oil
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Those who complain or speak up are more likely to get attention or help
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Những người than thở hoặc lên tiếng thường nhận được chú ý hoặc giúp đỡ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a squeaky wheel on a cart being lubricated
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “the squeaky wheel gets the oil” mean?
Those who complain or speak up are more likely to get attention or help Literally: a squeaky wheel on a cart being lubricated
Is “the squeaky wheel gets the oil” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.