chortle

verb chor·tle \ ˈchȯr-tᵊl \

Updated on: 27 Mar 2018

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

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
Then the president can chortle if immigrants who are here illegally duck away from participating in the population count.

— george skelton, latimes.com, "Will California lose a seat in Congress after the next census? You can bet Trump hopes so," 25 Jan. 2018
For her part, Clinton sat there and chortled, righteous and aglow.

— heather wilhelm, National Review, "The Mysterious Female Conservative," 6 Oct. 2017
Four years earlier, Democrats chortled heartily when President Obama mocked Mitt Romney in their foreign-policy debate for describing Russia as the chief geostrategic foe of the United States.

— jonathan s. tobin, National Review, "What Russia’s Facebook War Didn’t Do," 11 Oct. 2017
There have been some assorted chuckles, chortles, and guffaws about the theme of this season.

— dalton ross, PEOPLE.com, "Survivor: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers," 28 Sep. 2017
The Toronto audience chortled over the minimizing sequence in particular, during which techs scoop up the newly tiny beings with spatulas like cookies on a tray.

— andrea mandell, USA TODAY, "'Downsizing' works to shrink the competition at Toronto Film Festival," 12 Sep. 2017

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

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.