chortle
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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
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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'll miss our chats and I'll miss catching him off guard and making him chortle.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
“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
The civilian let out a chortle of delight.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
"With a wig and a moustache," he chortles, while wearing the sort of sheepskin coat that even Del Boy might have rejected on taste grounds.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
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
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
“We’re going to be okay,” DeShon chortles, hopping ahead rapidly.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
When Van Peebles decided to try to make the movie himself, Hollywood chortled.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2021
“It sounds like something I would say,” said the humble ambassador, as he chortled out loud.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 20, 2019
“If they were consultants,” Wilson chortled, “they were not earning their fees.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2019
Stoya: I straight-up chortled when I was reading the question through for the first time.
From Slate ● May 23, 2019
“Not when you stay down as long as you did,” he chortled.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
“OK, I think I can,” he relents, before chortling and adding: “I seriously don’t want to.”
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2024
Soon enough, I was chortling right alongside him.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2023
“If Rishi Sunak can’t keep his own dog on a leash how is he going to keep the big dog Boris Johnson on one?” the caller asked, leaving the radio host chortling.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2023
Rogers, for her part, is chortling all the way to her campaign treasurer’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
Then one night after supper she and Amelia came upstairs to find Betsy chortling over the paper in their bedroom.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
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.
