tinkle

[ ting-kuhl ]
See synonyms for: tinkletinkling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),tin·kled, tin·kling.
  1. to give forth or make a succession of short, light, ringing sounds, as a small bell.

  2. to run one's fingers lightly over a keyboard instrument or to play such an instrument simply or badly.

  1. Baby Talk. to urinate.

verb (used with object),tin·kled, tin·kling.
  1. to cause to tinkle or jingle: The goat tinkled its bell every time it raised its head. Who's tinkling the piano?

  2. to make known, call attention to, attract, or summon by tinkling.

noun
  1. a tinkling sound or tune.

  2. an act or instance of tinkling.

  1. Informal. a telephone call: Give me a tinkle before you leave for Europe.

Origin of tinkle

1
1350–1400; Middle English tynclen, frequentative of tinken to clink; imitative

Other words from tinkle

  • outtinkle, verb (used with object), out·tin·kled, out·tin·kling.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tinkle in a sentence

  • The ninth line is—“From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.”

    Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)

British Dictionary definitions for tinkle

tinkle

/ (ˈtɪŋkəl) /


verb
  1. to ring or cause to ring with a series of high tinny sounds, like a small bell

  2. (tr) to announce or summon by such a ringing

  1. (intr) British informal to urinate

noun
  1. a high clear ringing sound

  2. the act of tinkling

  1. British informal a telephone call

Origin of tinkle

1
C14: of imitative origin

Derived forms of tinkle

  • tinkling, adjective, noun
  • tinkly, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012