jingle
Americanverb (used without object)
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jingles,
present (3rd person singular)
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jingled,
past participle, past
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jingling
present participle
-
to make clinking or tinkling sounds, as do coins, keys, or other light, resonant metal objects when coming into contact or being struck together repeatedly.
The keys on his belt jingled as he walked.
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to move or proceed with such sounds.
The sleigh, decorated with bells, jingled along the snowy road.
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to sound in a light, repetitious manner suggestive of this, as verse, a sequence of words, or piece of music.
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to make rhymes.
verb (used with object)
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jingles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jingled,
past participle, past
-
jingling
present participle
noun
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jingles
plural
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a tinkling or clinking sound, as of small bells or of small pieces of resonant metal repeatedly struck one against another.
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something that makes such a sound, as a small bell or a metal pendant.
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a catchy succession of like or repetitious sounds, as in music or verse.
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a piece of verse or a short song having such a catchy succession of sounds, usually of a light or humorous character.
an advertising jingle.
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Irish English and Australian. a loosely sprung, two-wheeled, roofed carriage, usually used as a hackney coach.
verb
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to ring or cause to ring lightly and repeatedly
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(intr) to sound in a manner suggestive of jingling
a jingling verse
noun
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a sound of metal jingling
the jingle of the keys
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a catchy and rhythmic verse, song, etc, esp one used in advertising
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jinglesimple
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jinglessimple
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have jingledperfect
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has jingledperfect
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am jinglingprogressive
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are jinglingprogressive
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is jinglingprogressive
-
have been jinglingperfect progressive
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has been jinglingperfect progressive
Past
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jingledsimple
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had jingledperfect
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was jinglingprogressive
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were jinglingprogressive
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had been jinglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jingle
1350–1400; Middle English gynglen, apparently imitative; compare Dutch jengelen; see -le
Explanation
To jingle is to make a sound like pieces of metal jangling together, like those bells people sing about at Christmas. A jingle is also a funny little poem or song. Have you ever heard a dog's metal tags banging together? That sound is called a jingle. A jingle is a metallic sound — a cowboy's spurs and a set of keys being shaken both jingle. If you drop a bunch of change on the ground, it will jingle. A jingle is also a bit of comic poetry, like a little song. Jingles are often made as advertisements because they tend to be catchy.
Vocabulary lists containing jingle
Metaphors from Top AP English Exam Novels
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A Good Kind of Trouble
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And Then, Boom!
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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:
With nearly seven million views on social media, the campaign jingle inspired by the Puerto Rican star calls on people not to "let go of the Brazilian flag."
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
In the post, a jingle from a popular ad for a cleaning product played: “Blue for the toilet; red for the bathroom.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
But she walked offstage to a new jingle that went, “At my Tennessean Truck Stop, everyone belongs.”
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Kars4Kids filed an appeal, and the court has ruled the jingle can stay on the air throughout the appeals process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
When she laughs, it makes her dangling earrings jingle and she looks so beautiful it makes me happy.
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
In turn, an expanding roster of immersive, cinematic TV made the medium’s cheesy jingles and pandering copy look and sound discordant.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
The jingles and sounders used to identify CBS News network programming heard on the stations for decades have also been part of the listening experience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
The ball jingles and is bowled underarm along the pitch.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025
On that LP, he explored the aesthetic surfaces of advertising, sampling fragments of jingles and other sonic detritus and arranging them into haunting new shapes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
My father jingles his keys and the change in his pockets while he talks with them.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
When toys failed to pacify her, I jingled my keys.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2021
As an ice cream truck jingled up to the curb, Sonia Eaddy, the block party’s organizer, stepped up to the microphone.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 24, 2021
Cards are being dealt, dice are rolling and slot machines flashed and jingled for the first customers who started gambling again early Thursday in Las Vegas and throughout the state.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2020
Bert jingled his black change purse with a sly grin.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 28, 2018
Her icy sled jingled over the wind-swept lakes and she sang as she traveled.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
Some walkers carried jingling shells to mark their previous participation in another very long walk: the Camino de Santiago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
She says she is adjusting to the sound of banging gates and jingling keys at Tai Lam Correctional Institution - a complex of concrete and razor wire that overlooks a thin strip of water.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
On a lush cricket ground outside Colombo the sharp jingling of a ball cuts through the afternoon air.
From Barron's ● Nov. 22, 2025
As a member of the U.S. team, Alvaro Mora Arellano stations himself along the sideline, waiting for the jingling ball to come his way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2024
“Be careful, dear,” the man says as I step out, the bells attached to the door jingling.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
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.
