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’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
He could wail and whimper, chortle and coo, often dropping his microphone midsong and finishing the verse in a naked roar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2021
But the little one’s eyes opened wide, and she let out a chortle.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
He chortles as Thoreau gets sick over a quahog.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Ken interjects in a flash, to chortles around the table.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2024
It’s scathing; it made me snort rage chortles aloud as I read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
“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
“We’re going to be okay,” DeShon chortles, hopping ahead rapidly.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
When Van Peebles decided to try to make the movie himself, Hollywood chortled.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2021
“I mean it is,” Ms Barrymore said, and they chortled.
From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2021
“It sounds like something I would say,” said the humble ambassador, as he chortled out loud.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 20, 2019
“If they were consultants,” Wilson chortled, “they were not earning their fees.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2019
“If you had really wanted to know,” Von Marsh chortled, “you would’ve answered when I called you the first time.”
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
“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
A romance that can make a reader laugh aloud is a treat, especially if that book causes uncontrolled chortling in public, or punctures the silence of an otherwise quiet space.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 3, 2022
When they’re pleased or excited, they emit a noise called a dook — a rapid-fire chortling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2022
She laughed like she was chortling at the clouds and walked away.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
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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.
