gurgle
Americanverb (used without object)
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gurgles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gurgled,
past participle, past
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gurgling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
gurgles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gurgled,
past participle, past
-
gurgling
present participle
noun
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gurgles
plural
verb
-
(of liquids, esp of rivers, streams, etc) to make low bubbling noises when flowing
-
to utter low throaty bubbling noises, esp as a sign of contentment
the baby gurgled with delight
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gurglesimple
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gurglessimple
-
have gurgledperfect
-
has gurgledperfect
-
am gurglingprogressive
-
are gurglingprogressive
-
is gurglingprogressive
-
have been gurglingperfect progressive
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has been gurglingperfect progressive
Past
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gurgledsimple
-
had gurgledperfect
-
was gurglingprogressive
-
were gurglingprogressive
-
had been gurglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gurgle
First recorded in 1555–65; compare Dutch, Middle Low German gorgelen, German gurgeln “to gargle”; akin to Latin gurguliō “throat”
Explanation
To gurgle is to make a sound like bubbling or splashing water. Not to be confusing, but when you gargle mouthwash, you probably gurgle. People gurgle when they say something (or make a noise) with an accompanying wet, gurgling sound. Your stomach might gurgle too, especially when you're hungry. And liquid itself gurgles, like a stream that gurgles over rocks or sweet iced tea that gurgles from a bottle into your glass. Experts aren't sure if gurgle is an imitative word, from the sound itself, or if it's rooted in Latin.
Vocabulary lists containing gurgle
Instead of "Said": Words That Sound Like What They Mean
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Lend Me Your Ears: Sound Words
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Ghost Boys
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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:
Its tick was a low-key gurgle and the alarm a dignified two-bell chime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
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
I see it in the hummingbirds flitting past my window, hear it in the gurgle of my emptying dishwasher and feel it in the vibration of the cellphone in my pocket.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2023
And I know what’s what When it comes to Snow cones Packed with the flat Of a hand and laced With a gurgle Of sugary water.
From "Neighborhood Odes" by Gary Soto
When he meets adults he stares at them and takes them in, then kindly smiles and gurgles and lets them pat him, ruffle his hair, and take his face in their hands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
On a visit to a Texas ostrich farm, the researchers recorded 11 types of calls, ranging from high frequency peeps and gurgles in baby ostriches to low frequency boos and booms in adult males.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2024
They also sound very different — while humpback whales are known for their haunting songs, gray whales make gurgles, grunts and croaks.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
They spent the night in cabins with no doors or windows, the better to let nighttime mountain breezes and the gurgles of the river lull them to sleep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
My stomach gurgles as soon as I hear the word swim.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
Serene spa music, a blend of classical piano and loudly chirping birds, trilled in the background as the machine sloshed and gurgled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
His 3-year-old son chewed on a piece of cake while the baby gurgled and continued to bounce nearby.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2021
Rock pigeons cooed and gurgled inside small crevices in the cave walls, marred in places by graffiti from long-ago visitors.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2021
In a dull and childless marriage to “a bastard of the standard-issue variety,” she is biding her time at Goode’s, her life “slipping away with the rinsing water as it gurgled down the plughole.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2020
Lady Constance delighted in each one, and she personally wrote countless prompt thank-you notes while the babies gurgled in their cradle.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
As a child, Franzoy often went tubing on the river or splashed with playmates in gurgling irrigation canals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
BRR-ungggggg…The naturally aspirated four-cylinder churned with a gurgling, drowning-motorcycle sound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Thankfully, there are often other cues as to the whereabouts of your fleshy foes, such as flickering lights and their awful, gurgling cries.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Soundscape environmental composer Annea Lockwood dived deep into gripping, gurgling water sounds that were electronically enhanced and got the joint jumping with her piano percussion duo “Jitterbug,” performed by Vicki Ray and Wesley Sumpter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024
“Plate, mate, fate, plate, ” I say as Gertie, biting my lips, gurgling, playing not so much Elliott’s adorable younger sister but, like, an idiot monkey starved of nutrients.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
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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.
