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 PalmExamples 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
John Melloy,christopher Hayes, CNBC, 5 Feb. 2025
This will also make small-government types chortle over the notion that Trump is actually one of them.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2025
Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 May 2025
And so the two men, wielding their mockery, make a show of each chortle and smirk.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for chortle
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Verb
Take a look at the other top 10 nonfinancial S & P 500 stocks by forward price-to-sales ratio: Calling all value investors (chortle): Nvidia trades at a relatively tame 15 forward price-to-sales ratio.
—John Melloy,christopher Hayes, CNBC, 5 Feb. 2025
This will also make small-government types chortle over the notion that Trump is actually one of them.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2025
Noun
Yoda made a slight sound of dissatisfaction, a grumbling chortle.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 May 2025
And so the two men, wielding their mockery, make a show of each chortle and smirk.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for chortle
Cite this Entry
“Chortle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chortle. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chortle
verb
chor·tle
ˈchȯrt-əl
chortled; chortling
ˈchȯrt-(ə-)liŋ
: to chuckle especially in satisfaction
chortle
noun
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