giggle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
giggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
giggled,
past participle, past
-
giggling
present participle
verb
noun
-
such a laugh
-
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
-
have giggledperfect
-
has giggledperfect
-
am gigglingprogressive
-
are gigglingprogressive
-
is gigglingprogressive
-
have been gigglingperfect progressive
-
has been gigglingperfect progressive
Past
-
giggledsimple
-
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:
Still, Todd doesn’t like the way Hal and Grace giggle together in secret.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
“I’m really drawn to problematic characters,” Eleazar says with a gleeful giggle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
“I feel like there’s an artist after me but there isn’t,” said Selines with a hushed giggle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
She’s not coming back to have a hit and giggle and then a Pimm’s at Centre Court.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
"Unless you want mushy ice cream," eight-year-old Nancy Drew said with a giggle.
From "Scream for Ice Cream: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #2" by Carolyn Keene
This portion of the curriculum, naturally, came with plenty of giggles and whispers.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
"Well, he's a top dog in 2025 - absolutely, yeah," Shearer replies coyly, before the pair and Gary Lineker erupt into fits of giggles.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025
It isn’t quite silly season yet, but the giggles are starting.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
The capacity of film to genuinely frighten, via editing, camera, music and—notably in a Wan film—ambient sound was being abandoned in favor of gore and giggles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025
There were giggles and murmurs of disgust and delight from the group, then Door yelled, “Good thing the presentation isn’t scratch and sniff!”
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
"I feel silly," giggled Ruiloba, a 34-year-old doctor.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
As those scenes played in New York, Swift affectionately turned to Saunders and yelled, "YES!" as he giggled and covered his face in feigned shyness.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
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
Carrie grinned and giggled and for one glorious moment savored her peace, until a rat stampede abruptly invaded it.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2025
Red still giggled until a thin, knobby hand touched her shoulder.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Pike seemed warm and "eager to please", said Roberts, and was giggling, smiling, and picking up on cues.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
“My name is on the ballot! That’s mine!” he said, holding up the letter and giggling.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
“I’ve never been drunk because I don’t like the taste of alcohol,” says Moreno, giggling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
He was told to go to the bathroom block and Cheryl ran giggling into the ladies' changing rooms, refusing to come out.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026
The little girl ran past giggling, followed by a boy of similar age.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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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.
