tickle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to touch or stroke lightly with the fingers, a feather, etc., so as to excite a tingling or itching sensation in; titillate.
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to poke some sensitive part of the body so as to excite spasmodic laughter.
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to excite agreeably; gratify.
to tickle someone's vanity.
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to excite amusement in.
The clown's antics really tickled the kids.
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to get, move, etc., by or as by tickling.
She tickled him into saying yes.
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to stroke the underbelly of (a fish, especially a trout) until it goes into a trancelike state, making it possible to scoop it out of the water: the ability to tickle a fish, often contested as more mythical than actual, has been written of and embellished on since ancient times.
He tickled that fish until it stopped moving, and the next thing I knew, we were having trout for dinner!
verb (used without object)
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to be affected with a tingling or itching sensation, as from light touches or strokes.
I tickle all over.
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to produce such a sensation.
noun
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an act or instance of tickling.
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a tickling sensation.
idioms
verb
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to touch, stroke, or poke (a person, part of the body, etc) so as to produce pleasure, laughter, or a twitching sensation
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(tr) to excite pleasurably; gratify
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(tr) to delight or entertain (often in the phrase tickle one's fancy )
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(intr) to itch or tingle
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(tr) to catch (a fish, esp a trout) by grasping it with the hands and gently moving the fingers into its gills
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informal to please greatly
he was tickled pink to be elected president
noun
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a sensation of light stroking or itching
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the act of tickling
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(in the Atlantic Provinces) a narrow strait
Usage
What is a basic definition of tickle? Tickle means to touch sensitive body parts in order to cause laughter, to stroke lightly to cause an itching sensation, or to excite. Tickle has several other senses as a verb and a noun.You might tickle your baby brother as part of playing to get him to laugh. Tickling involves touching sensitive body parts, such as the stomach or armpits, to cause involuntary laughter. It is usually done with the fingers, fingernails, or a feather. If someone is especially easy to make laugh by tickling, they are said to be ticklish.
- Real-life examples: Parents often tickle babies or their children to make them laugh or cheer them up. Kids might tickle each other while playing. A person should always have permission before they tickle you.
- Used in a sentence: When my daughter is sad, I can usually cheer her up by tickling her.
- Real-life examples: An uncomfortable sweater may tickle your neck. A pleasant smell can tickle your nose. A bug bite on your leg may cause your leg tickle.
- Used in a sentence: The wind tickled the hairs on the back of my neck.
- Used in a sentence: I felt a slight tickle on my knee after going through the poison ivy bush.
- Used in a sentence: The gorgeous dress tickled her sense of style.
Other Word Forms
- tickly adjective
- untickled adjective
Etymology
Origin of tickle
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tikelen; further origin uncertain; perhaps frequentative of tiken “to touch lightly”; tick 1 (in obsolete sense “to touch lightly”)
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.
She tickled Chica’s wrinkly chin till her wise turtle eyes blinked with happiness.
From Literature
Which will give a lot of old parochial-school kids a tickle.
She giggles as the paper tickles her face, but even her untainted happiness isn’t enough to cheer me up today.
From Literature
He focused on the stars in the sky, and the bulbous moon, and the dust that tickled his scalp and skin.
From Literature
Chase nodded and was about to forge ahead when he felt something tickle his leg.
From Literature
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.
