chortled; chortling
ˈchȯrt-liŋ,
ˈchȯr-tᵊl-iŋ
1
: to sing or chant exultantly
he chortled in his joy—
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll2
: to laugh or chuckle especially when amused or pleased
She chortled with delight.
: to say or sing with a chortling intonation
"… nothing whatever to worry about," he chortled merrily.—Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers
plural chortles
: a laugh or chuckle expressing pleasure or amusement
a chortle of delight
I hear a catbird's bubbling notes, sounding like the bird is half strangling itself to get them out, the rapid-tonguing chortle of a red-bellied woodpecker …—John P. Wiley, Jr.
John P. Wiley, Jr.The grin escalates into a chuckle, the chuckle to a chortle.—Robert Palm
Robert PalmSynonyms
Examples of chortle in a Sentence
Verb
He chortled, “You're going to love this.”
audiences might chortle gently during the movie's amusing bits, but there are few knee-slappers
Noun
the joke provoked a sudden chortle from a bystander
Recent Examples on the Web
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
But to chortle with a murderous, anti-American dictator over a former vice president . .
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 Nov. 2024
Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
On the 101 in my bumper-car Prius, there’s one billboard that invariably gets a chortle out of me.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chortle 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Bill Weld will chortle and pound the table and demand another round!
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
But to chortle with a murderous, anti-American dictator over a former vice president . .
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
And so the two men, wielding their mockery, make a show of each chortle and smirk.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
On the 101 in my bumper-car Prius, there’s one billboard that invariably gets a chortle out of me.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chortle
Articles Related to chortle
Dictionary Entries Near chortle
Cite this Entry
“Chortle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chortle. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chortle
verb
chor·tle
ˈchȯrt-əl
chortled; chortling
ˈchȯrt-(ə-)liŋ
: to chuckle especially in satisfaction
chortle
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share