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chuckle

[ chuhk-uhl ]
/ ˈtʃʌk əl /
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See synonyms for: chuckle / chuckled / chuckling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), chuck·led, chuck·ling.
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.
Obsolete. to cluck, as a fowl.
noun
a soft laugh, usually of satisfaction.
Obsolete. the cluck of a hen.
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Origin of chuckle

First recorded in 1590–1600; chuck3 + -le

synonym study for chuckle

4. See laugh.

OTHER WORDS FROM chuckle

chuckler, nounchuck·ling·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use chuckle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for chuckle

chuckle
/ (ˈtʃʌkəl) /

verb (intr)
to laugh softly or to oneself
(of animals, esp hens) to make a clucking sound
noun
a partly suppressed laugh

Derived forms of chuckle

chuckler, nounchucklingly, adverb

Word Origin for chuckle

C16: probably from chuck ³
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
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