jingle

1 of 2

verb

jin·​gle ˈjiŋ-gəl How to pronounce jingle (audio)
jingled; jingling ˈjiŋ-g(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce jingle (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to make a light clinking or tinkling sound
2
: to rhyme or sound in a catchy repetitious manner

transitive verb

: to cause to jingle
jingler noun

jingle

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: a light clinking or tinkling sound
b
: a catchy repetition of sounds in a poem
2
a
: something that jingles
b
: a short verse or song marked by catchy repetition
jingly adjective

Examples of jingle in a Sentence

Verb Bells jingled in the distance. She jingled the coins in her pocket. Noun I heard the jingle of bells. the jingle of change in my pocket
Recent Examples on the Web
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
They’re woven into the tapestry of our front-yard memories—sticky fingers, crooked signs, and mason jars jingling with coins and all, but somewhere along the way, the simple tradition has faded. Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 5 July 2025 And that repeating first couplet — which comprises six of the poem’s 18 lines and occupied the first day of this challenge — will surely jingle in your pocket for a long time to come. A.o. Scott, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Noun
Of course, using the app does take away the throwback tradition of waiting to hear the jingle, an earworm that was written around 1960 by Philadelphia’s Les Wass, who passed away in 2016. Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 25 June 2025 Schwartz once made an experimental montage blending a Coca-Cola jingle with soundbites from Richard Nixon’s Watergate speeches, an evocative and surreal sonic collage that captured the contradictions of American life. Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for jingle

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English ginglen, of imitative origin

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of jingle was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Jingle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jingle. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

jingle

1 of 2 verb
jin·​gle ˈjiŋ-gəl How to pronounce jingle (audio)
jingled; jingling -g(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce jingle (audio)
: to make or cause to make a light clinking sound
coins jingled in their pockets
jingler noun

jingle

2 of 2 noun
1
: a light clinking sound
2
: a catchy repetition of sounds in a poem
3
: a verse or song marked by catchy repetition
jingly adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on jingle

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