chortle
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
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.
“I am trying to say it publicly to make sure he sees it,” Rogen says with his trademark chortle.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025
I’d scoff and chortle and avoid it, thinking that water was superfluous, extraneous, not something that would “make or break” whatever it was I was cooking.
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2024
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
A little accented voice rose from Zeke’s knee with a chortle.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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.
