chortle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
chortles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chortled,
past participle, past
-
chortling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
chortles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chortled,
past participle, past
-
chortling
present participle
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chortlesimple
-
chortlessimple
-
have chortledperfect
-
has chortledperfect
-
am chortlingprogressive
-
are chortlingprogressive
-
is chortlingprogressive
-
have been chortlingperfect progressive
-
has been chortlingperfect progressive
Past
-
chortledsimple
-
had chortledperfect
-
was chortlingprogressive
-
were chortlingprogressive
-
had been chortlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chortle
Blend of chuckle and snort; coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass (1871)
Explanation
A chortle is a joyful, partly muffled laugh. If you have a toddler, you will recognize the sound of a delighted chortle, sort of louder and a bit more raucous than a giggle. In 1871, Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland, coined the word chortle in the poem "Jabberwocky," about a son who slays a monster and comes back to his relieved and happy father: "'O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy." Experts consider the word a blend of the words chuckle and snort and the laugh itself is also a cross between the two. You may chortle in glee if you find out your work nemesis just got a new job in another office — out of state.
Vocabulary lists containing chortle
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Instead of "Said": Words for Upbeat Banter
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List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I'll miss our chats and I'll miss catching him off guard and making him chortle.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
If Kate DiCamillo wrote a book about a box of Swiffer refills, it would probably make us chortle and sob about lint.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2023
Now, a new, more virile chortle has risen to take its place.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2023
The rest of us will be content to drool at each of Bertha's fabulous dresses or chortle at Agnes' quick comebacks.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2022
A little accented voice rose from Zeke’s knee with a chortle.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
He chortles as Thoreau gets sick over a quahog.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
“What’s that shiny ring you got there? … Well, OK, I’m not gonna take it from you. That seems really precious to you,” he says as the audience chortles.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
As Christmas chortles atop an all-terrain vehicle while wielding a .50 caliber weapon, it looks like the whole thing could have been shot with rear projection, the green-screen work is so shoddy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
Everyone chortles and then moves on, but it's a silly joke that actually does have a well-intentioned meaning behind it when it comes to the bright condiment and ingredient.
From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2023
“Never thought I’d be in a sleeping bag on the ground,” chortles Kelvin.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
His small crowd chortled and ate it up.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
California competition, cheered and chortled last week when Musk announced he was moving the headquarters of his Tesla electric vehicle company from Silicon Valley to Austin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2021
“I mean it is,” Ms Barrymore said, and they chortled.
From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2021
Right now, the general feeling toward Pence among Trump allies is sympathy, said one Republican in frequent touch with the White House, who chortled and said, “Poor guy.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 5, 2021
“Well, it’s true,” Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, “If he hadn’t stolen Neville’s Remembrall I wouldn’t be on the team. . ..”
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
“OK, I think I can,” he relents, before chortling and adding: “I seriously don’t want to.”
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2024
A large crowd, boisterously enjoying a dip whilst chitchatting and chortling, or a quiet night at home with nothing but your dip and a ton of chips and crudite.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
“If Rishi Sunak can’t keep his own dog on a leash how is he going to keep the big dog Boris Johnson on one?” the caller asked, leaving the radio host chortling.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2023
Rogers, for her part, is chortling all the way to her campaign treasurer’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
In minutes I hear the water gushing down the sluiceway, bubbling and chortling along until it spills out the end and strikes the paddles of the wheel just forward of its highest point.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
