chuckle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
chuckles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chuckled,
past participle, past
-
chuckling
present participle
-
to laugh softly or amusedly, usually with satisfaction.
They chuckled at the child's efforts to walk.
-
to laugh to oneself.
to chuckle while reading.
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Obsolete. to cluck, as a fowl.
noun
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chuckles
plural
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a soft laugh, usually of satisfaction.
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Obsolete. the cluck of a hen.
verb
-
to laugh softly or to oneself
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(of animals, esp hens) to make a clucking sound
noun
Synonym Usage
See laugh.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chucklesimple
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chucklessimple
-
have chuckledperfect
-
has chuckledperfect
-
am chucklingprogressive
-
are chucklingprogressive
-
is chucklingprogressive
-
have been chucklingperfect progressive
-
has been chucklingperfect progressive
Past
-
chuckledsimple
-
had chuckledperfect
-
was chucklingprogressive
-
were chucklingprogressive
-
had been chucklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chuckle
Explanation
Chuckle is as fun to say as it is to do. In fact, just the sound of the word chuckle may make you feeling like chuckling, or laughing softly. Chuckle is one of many words for different kinds of laughter. These include giggle, titter, snicker, and a word that is a cross between chuckle and snort — chortle. These words are all imitative. That is, the word itself sounds like the noise it refers to. With all these words for laughter, it may be hard to choose the right one for the occasion. Use chuckle when you mean a quiet, even soundless laugh.
Vocabulary lists containing chuckle
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 4
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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:
"Good afternoon. I heard you missed me. Here I am," Melania said with a chuckle as she opened an event in the White House Rose Garden.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
“It was really fun being his mom for the 18 years,” she said, with a chuckle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
You have to chuckle, at moments when you should be gasping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Initially, this shot in “Couture” gave me a chuckle and took me out of the film.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
“If you like wild, you’re going to love it,” he said, without missing a beat, making Columbia Hillel Boy chuckle, and it took all of Clara’s efforts not to snap.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
"With so many unanswered questions, gravity remains one of the most fascinating areas of research. It's a naturally attractive field," Gallardo chuckles.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
“Why are we paying extras $180 a day when they look so plastic anyway?” he asked, eliciting slightly nervous chuckles from the audience.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
“I’m not going to dismiss the case,” Hellerstein said, prompting chuckles in the packed courtroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
She declines, in a moment that drew chuckles in the cinema - "I will see it on the news," she tells him.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
Granddaddy chuckles and puts his fist out to me.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
Peter Fleming, convinced this was just another of his son’s antics, chuckled in disbelief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
When asked if she would run for president in the 2028 elections after being shown polling reflecting her popularity as a potential candidate, Ocasio-Cortez chuckled and tried to sidestep a direct answer.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Baker smiled widely, nodded his head, greeted Ortiz in Spanish, chuckled and walked over to Ortiz and Vladimir Guerrero, giving each of them hugs and pats on the back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"She saw my bracelets that I wearing and she just came at me," chuckled Joseph.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
I chuckled uneasily and focused on lighting the lantern.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
"Brother Wang was very important. He was number one," says Enrique, chuckling knowingly.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Many are asking “What happened to Lindsey Graham?,” but nobody is chuckling.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
But he's just as comfortable ceding the spotlight to Little Simz, or chuckling as he trades riffs with flautist Ajay Prasanna.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Later we’ll hear a young oligarch say, while chuckling nefariously, “I have a banker’s personality. I love money!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
We kept catching each other’s eye, chuckling over the things Ben said.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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.
