gargle

American  

[gahr-guhl] / ˈgɑr gəl /

verb (used without object)

• gargles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• gargled,
  past participle,  past
• gargling
  present participle

1. to wash or rinse the throat or mouth with a liquid held in the throat and kept in motion by a stream of air from the lungs.

---

verb (used with object)

• gargles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• gargled,
  past participle,  past
• gargling
  present participle

1. to gargle (the throat or mouth).

2. to utter with a gargling sound.

noun

• gargles
  plural

1. any liquid used for gargling.

2. a gargling sound.

gargle British  

/ ˈɡɑːɡəl /

verb

1. to rinse (the mouth and throat) with a liquid, esp a medicinal fluid by slowly breathing out through the liquid

2. to utter (words, sounds, etc) with the throaty bubbling noise of gargling

---

noun

1. the liquid used for gargling

2. the sound produced by gargling

3. informal an alcoholic drink

   what was her favourite gargle?

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gargler
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gargles
  plural

Participles

• gargling
  present
• gargled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• gargle
  simple
• gargles
  simple
• have gargled
  perfect
• has gargled
  perfect
• am gargling
  progressive
• are gargling
  progressive
• is gargling
  progressive
• have been gargling
  perfect progressive
• has been gargling
  perfect progressive

Past

• gargled
  simple
• had gargled
  perfect
• was gargling
  progressive
• were gargling
  progressive
• had been gargling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will gargle
  simple
• will have gargled
  perfect
• will be gargling
  progressive
• will have been gargling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of gargle

1520–30; < Middle French gargouiller to gargle, rattle the throat, derivative of gargouille throat; perhaps imitative

Explanation

When you gargle, you swish mouthwash or another liquid around your mouth and at the back of your throat. After having a tooth pulled, you might be instructed to gargle with saltwater. If you gargle with mouthwash, moving the minty liquid around your mouth and then spitting it out, you'll have fresh breath. Many people make a gurgling sound when they gargle. The word comes from the Middle French gargouiller, "to gurgle or bubble," which stems from the Old French gargole, meaning both "throat" and "waterspout," rooted in the Latin word for "throat," gula.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gargle gargles gargled gargling

His mash-up feels fresh, just as the bombastic score by Juri Seppä and Tuomas Wäinölä boldly borrows Ennio Morricone’s soaring horns and wah-wah-waaah squawks while adding its own gargle of Finnish throat singing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025

I had just finished brushing my teeth and was about to gargle, so I went ahead and gargled.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

The senator was referring to a comment he made at a town-hall meeting in December suggesting that a “standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2022

Anti-vaccine advocates have promoted Betadine, a povidone-iodine antiseptic used to clean cuts or as a gargle for sore throats.

From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2021

The only slight drawback is that I’m one table over from Brij Nath and Matthew Weir, both of whom slurp cafeteria chili and gargle it in the back of their throats as a joke.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Perplexity advised rest and fluids, while Claude also recommended zinc lozenges and saltwater gargles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

“My preciousssssss,” Adam Heyes gargles in a high-pitched voice as he crouches on the linoleum checkerboard floor.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023

Listen to how well the recording captures Mr. Hutcherson’s muted clangs and chiming overtones — along with the bleats, harrumphs and gargles of Mr. Dolphy’s bass clarinet, and the deep gravitas of Richard Davis’s bass.

From New York Times ● Aug. 26, 2016

Rahm Emanuel gargles with soap every morning, but it doesn’t help.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 2, 2016

He brushes gently, methodically, then cups water into his mouth with his hands and gargles.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

I had just finished brushing my teeth and was about to gargle, so I went ahead and gargled.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

Then his gaze fell on my wife, and he gargled out the word “beautiful” before smiling boyishly.

From New York Times ● Dec. 25, 2020

It found people who gargled and cleared their nose with a salt water solution reported fewer coughs, less congestion and seemed to recover quicker.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2020

So rancid did his night scenarios become that Seamie Ferris stumbled from the bed to the bathroom and gargled with Listerine.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 8, 2018

Luke made a gargled noise, as if he were choking.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

First, internet healers falsely suggested that gargling salt water and vinegar could prevent a coronavirus infection.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2024

That mentality, that medical fear, gives way to home remedies like chicken noodle soup, gargling with salt water, taking a nap and, yes, sipping on the syrupy, high fructose, food-colored ginger ale.

From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2023

A health official explained pandemic responses on state TV, while state newspapers have churned out articles on how to deal with fever, including gargling with saltwater and drinking honey or willow leaf tea.

From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2022

Covid is mainly caught by inhaling tiny droplets in the air via the nose as well as the mouth, so gargling attacks only one point of entry.

From BBC ● May 19, 2022

Finally, when I have survived the worst, opening my eyes underwater, sniffing water into my sinuses and snorting it out, and even gargling repeatedly to wash out my throat, I’m functional enough to help Finnick.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins