chortle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
chortles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chortled,
past participle, past
-
chortling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
chortles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chortled,
past participle, past
-
chortling
present participle
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chortlesimple
-
chortlessimple
-
have chortledperfect
-
has chortledperfect
-
am chortlingprogressive
-
are chortlingprogressive
-
is chortlingprogressive
-
have been chortlingperfect progressive
-
has been chortlingperfect progressive
Past
-
chortledsimple
-
had chortledperfect
-
was chortlingprogressive
-
were chortlingprogressive
-
had been chortlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chortle
Blend of chuckle and snort; coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass (1871)
Explanation
A chortle is a joyful, partly muffled laugh. If you have a toddler, you will recognize the sound of a delighted chortle, sort of louder and a bit more raucous than a giggle. In 1871, Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland, coined the word chortle in the poem "Jabberwocky," about a son who slays a monster and comes back to his relieved and happy father: "'O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy." Experts consider the word a blend of the words chuckle and snort and the laugh itself is also a cross between the two. You may chortle in glee if you find out your work nemesis just got a new job in another office — out of state.
Vocabulary lists containing chortle
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Instead of "Said": Words for Upbeat Banter
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List 8
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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:
“I am trying to say it publicly to make sure he sees it,” Rogen says with his trademark chortle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025
I’d scoff and chortle and avoid it, thinking that water was superfluous, extraneous, not something that would “make or break” whatever it was I was cooking.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2024
If Kate DiCamillo wrote a book about a box of Swiffer refills, it would probably make us chortle and sob about lint.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2023
Now, a new, more virile chortle has risen to take its place.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2023
A little accented voice rose from Zeke’s knee with a chortle.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
The name Hank McCune may be lost to history, but his short-lived television sitcom will forever be remembered for its chuckles, chortles, giggles and guffaws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
Ken interjects in a flash, to chortles around the table.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2024
It’s scathing; it made me snort rage chortles aloud as I read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
“What’s that shiny ring you got there? … Well, OK, I’m not gonna take it from you. That seems really precious to you,” he says as the audience chortles.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
“Oh, the river is a wild one,” chortles the owner.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
California competition, cheered and chortled last week when Musk announced he was moving the headquarters of his Tesla electric vehicle company from Silicon Valley to Austin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2021
When Van Peebles decided to try to make the movie himself, Hollywood chortled.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2021
“I mean it is,” Ms Barrymore said, and they chortled.
From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2021
“You should have heard yourself,” he chortled back at me, “you said ‘What country friends is this?’ in a thick South African accent!”
From The Guardian ● Jul. 9, 2020
“We’ll have to suggest that to the committee. Maybe they’d study it,” Jonas said slyly, and Larissa chortled with laughter.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
“OK, I think I can,” he relents, before chortling and adding: “I seriously don’t want to.”
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2024
A large crowd, boisterously enjoying a dip whilst chitchatting and chortling, or a quiet night at home with nothing but your dip and a ton of chips and crudite.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
Rogers, for her part, is chortling all the way to her campaign treasurer’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
A romance that can make a reader laugh aloud is a treat, especially if that book causes uncontrolled chortling in public, or punctures the silence of an otherwise quiet space.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 3, 2022
Once she got busy with that, she stopped squawking and started making her little chortling noises again.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
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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.
