giggle
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
noun
-
such a laugh
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informal something or someone that provokes amusement
-
a fit of prolonged and uncontrollable giggling
-
informal as a joke or prank; not seriously
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gigglesimple
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gigglessimple
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have giggledperfect
-
has giggledperfect
-
am gigglingprogressive
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are gigglingprogressive
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is gigglingprogressive
-
have been gigglingperfect progressive
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has been gigglingperfect progressive
Past
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giggledsimple
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had giggledperfect
-
was gigglingprogressive
-
were gigglingprogressive
-
had been gigglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of giggle
1500–10; imitative; compare Dutch gigelen, German gickeln. See -le
Explanation
If you laugh with a dainty tee-hee-hee, you giggle. Children giggle a lot. Big strong men are more likely to guffaw or issue a big belly laugh. The word giggle has been around since about the 16th century, and yet, it has no Latin or Greek roots. Most likely the word is an imitation of the silly sound you make when you laugh like this. If you and your friends have hidden a frog on your teacher's desk, when she enters the room and moves towards it, you will probably begin giggling — you know something funny is about to happen and you're a little nervous about it.
Vocabulary lists containing giggle
Instead of "Said": Words for Upbeat Banter
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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"Charlotte's Web": Chapter One
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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:
"Everything on social media is really just me having a giggle, which is the truth of it. And that's all it should ever be, I think," she tells Newsbeat.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Jones said the project had been "35 years in the making", while Speirs joked it "could be a long shoot" as Jones kept making him "giggle".
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
She said with a giggle that at 15 years or so into their marriage, “I tell him what to do.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
Then she shares a delightful, fact-based piece of trivia like, “Hey, did you know that rats giggle when you tickle them?”
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026
The dreamy brown eyes that used to make mothers sigh and the girls giggle were bloodshot and rheumy.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
This portion of the curriculum, naturally, came with plenty of giggles and whispers.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Actor Ryan McCartan ranted on Instagram about poorly timed giggles during his performance in “The Great Gatsby.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
It isn’t quite silly season yet, but the giggles are starting.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
When asked if they would like a little more time to catch their breath in between releases, Keeho pauses to translate after which quirky singer and dancer Soul deadpans, “Yes!” dissolving them into giggles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
I missed Mattie’s songs, Fern’s giggles, the baby’s sweet smell, reading to Chase at bedtime, and sitting squashed round the supper table.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
"I feel silly," giggled Ruiloba, a 34-year-old doctor.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
You know how you giggled every time someone said “Tush Push”? You know how you held the football and stared at the Roger Goodell signature for 10 minutes?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
He playfully slapped at him, and they smiled and giggled like the best of friends.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2025
The first-time father is buoyed both by what he’s seeing with his team and reports about his infant, who giggled for the first time the other day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2025
“Uncle Freddy can’t see much,” Alexander said, and the children giggled, as if from long experience evading the blurry-eyed master of Ashton Place.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Fan-edited montages of the pair embracing, giggling and jumping into each other's arms are all over social media.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Now it’s time to go, and giggling over nothing, we walk to her car.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
“I’m at a loss for words,” Hanna says, giggling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
He filmed the process for TikTok, giggling at his flubs and using his hands to accentuate the rhythmic cadence of the language.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
After they stopped giggling, they started talking and kidding around.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
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.
