gurgle

American  

[gur-guhl] / ˈgɜr gəl /

verb (used without object)

gurgled, gurgling

1. to flow in a broken, irregular, noisy current.

   The water gurgled from the bottle.

   Synonyms:

   babble, burble, bubble

2. to make a sound as of water doing this (often used of birds or of human beings).

   Synonyms:

   babble, burble, bubble

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verb (used with object)

gurgled, gurgling

1. to utter or express with a gurgling sound.

   The baby gurgled her delight.

noun

1. the act or noise of gurgling.

gurgle British  

/ ˈɡɜːɡəl /

verb

1. (of liquids, esp of rivers, streams, etc) to make low bubbling noises when flowing

2. to utter low throaty bubbling noises, esp as a sign of contentment

   the baby gurgled with delight

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noun

1. the act or sound of gurgling

Other Word Forms

• gurgling adjective
• gurglingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of gurgle

First recorded in 1555–65; compare Dutch, Middle Low German gorgelen, German gurgeln “to gargle”; akin to Latin gurguliō “throat”

Example Sentences

As the 14th-ranked Utes took a two-score lead into the fourth quarter Saturday at the Coliseum, that familiar heartbreak that struck a season ago in Salt Lake City seemed to gurgle up.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2023

She expected to hear icebergs calving off the glacier—perhaps even the low, garden-hose gurgle of a subglacial river gushing out from underneath the glacier.

From National Geographic • Sep. 7, 2023

But the last time I called, he could only gurgle on the phone, having suffered a stroke.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 24, 2023

Glisters of moisture beaded all over the boy’s body: detectably nervous sweat, wells of proto-tears, the gurgle of mucus rising in the nose and throat.

From Slate • Aug. 27, 2022

We tracked her eating, her hours of sleep, her every gurgle.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama