chortle

verb chor·tle \ ˈchȯr-tᵊl \

Examples: chortle in a Sentence

Definition of chortle

chortled; chortling play \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

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chortle

noun

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chortler

play \ˈchȯrt-lər, ˈchȯr-tᵊl-ər\ noun

See chortle defined for English-language learners

See chortle defined for kids

Examples of chortle in a Sentence

He chortled, “You're going to love this.”
audiences might chortle gently during the movie's amusing bits, but there are few knee-slappers

Recent Examples of chortle from the Web

Casey, a veteran pol, chortled and rubbed his hands together in glee upon hearing this.

— bill torpy, ajc, "Torpy at Large: Casey at the bat, swinging at ‘illegals’ in Decatur," 4 June 2018
The main entertainment was Jimmy Buffett, bluff and chortling, on hand to promote his feel-good jukebox musical.

— matthew schneier, New York Times, "Troye Sivan Is a New Kind of Pop Star: Here, Queer and Used to It," 10 May 2018
His liberal critics have chortled about the president’s stated desire to review a big bristling military parade in Washington in the near future.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "House Republicans Working to Give Trump His Military Parade," 4 May 2018
One of the others chortled; his friend explained: Dude, there’s, like, a legit Iranian sitting right there.

— rachel z. arndt, Longreads, "Rules for Departure," 11 Apr. 2018
Children ride their bikes to community pools and grow up listening to alligators chortle at night.

— jack healy, New York Times, "Outspoken and Precocious, Florida Students Struggle With Loss When the Cameras Turn Off," 25 Feb. 2018
Her friends were offended, but Hader chortled through the bit.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'SNL': Kate McKinnon skewers Sessions, DeVos," 18 Mar. 2018
At the Consumer Electronics Show this year, there was much chortling over the fact that Kohler had made a toilet with Alexa inside, so users could ask her to flush for them.

— libby copeland, Curbed, "Home smart home," 14 Mar. 2018
Again the political elites chortled — Oprah Winfrey!

— harper's bazaar staff, Harper's BAZAAR, "Donald Trump says he hopes Oprah will run for presidency so he can see her lose," 20 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chortle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of chortle

probably blend of chuckle and snort

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1871

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

chortle Synonyms

Phrases

split one's sides;

chortle

noun

Definition of chortle

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.