chortle

1 of 2

verb

chor·​tle ˈchȯr-tᵊl 

chortled; chortling

ˈchȯrt-liŋ,

ˈchȯr-tᵊl-iŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to sing or chant exultantly

he chortled in his joy

—Lewis Carroll

2

: to laugh or chuckle especially when amused or pleased

She chortled with delight.

transitive verb

: to say or sing with a chortling intonation

"… nothing whatever to worry about," he chortled merrily.

—Kevin Myers

chortler

ˈchȯrt-lər

ˈchȯr-tᵊl-ər 

noun

chortle

2 of 2

noun

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.

The grin escalates into a chuckle, the chuckle to a chortle.

—Robert Palm

Synonyms

Verb

• break up
• cackle
• chuckle
• crack up
• giggle
• hee-haw
• laugh
• roar
• scream
• snicker
• titter
• twitter

Noun

• belly laugh
• boff
• boffo
• boffola
• cachinnation
• cackle
• chuckle
• giggle
• guffaw
• hee-haw
• horselaugh
• laugh
• laughter
• snicker
• snigger
• titter
• twitter

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

Verb

But to chortle with a murderous, anti-American dictator over a former vice president . . —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 Nov. 2024

So skeptics may chortle at do-gooder liberals’ NIMBY uproar as being hoisted on their own petards, so to speak. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 19 May 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

Word History

Etymology

Verb

probably blend of chuckle and snort

First Known Use

Verb

1871, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1891, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chortle

verb

chor·​tle ˈchȯrt-əl 

chortled; chortling ˈchȯrt-(ə-)liŋ 

: to chuckle especially in satisfaction

chortle noun

chortler

ˈchȯrt-lər 

-(ə)lər

noun