Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

chortle

American  
[chawr-tl] / ˈtʃɔr tl /

verb (used without object)

chortled, chortling

  1. to chuckle gleefully.

verb (used with object)

chortled, chortling

  1. to express with a gleeful chuckle.

    to chortle one's joy.

noun

  1. a gleeful chuckle.

chortle British  
/ ˈtʃɔːtəl /

verb

  1. (intr) to chuckle gleefully

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a gleeful chuckle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • chortler noun

Etymology

Origin of chortle

Blend of chuckle and snort; coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass (1871)

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.

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, Israelis and others in the Middle East need to worry—or chortle over—his intentions there as well.

From Slate • Oct. 12, 2023

“I mean, missteps is an understatement,” Debbie Harry said with a chortle.

From New York Times • Aug. 22, 2022

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

Nyame breaks into a sarcastic chortle at his own joke.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Definitions 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.