tinkle 1 of 2

Definition of tinklenext
as in rattle
a series of short high ringing sounds the soothing tinkle of the wind chime on the back porch

Synonyms & Similar Words

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tinkle

2 of 2

verb

as in to clink
to make a repeated sharp light ringing sound the bell around the cat's neck tinkled as he ran across the yard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of tinkle
Noun
Now, new research suggests urination may function in a similar way: Captive chimpanzees that saw their peers peeing were more likely to take a tinkle themselves. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Jan. 2025 The door chime at their floral and gift shop tinkles every few minutes as another customer and friend comes in to collect their $10 bows. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024
Verb
The herds are decked out in crowns of flowers, and the air will be noisy, full of tinkling bells as the cattle trudge down from the higher Alpine pastures to the lower stretches of greenery in and around this town. AFAR Media, 4 Aug. 2025 The sound of the water tinkling on the fountain’s bronze statues makes my heart flutter. Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for tinkle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkle
Noun
  • The gift basket included items such as a rattle, books, swaddles, and a blanket, along with other essentials for new parents.
    Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Silver engraving, masks, totem poles, rattles, prints.
    Kerry Breen, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • So the pair took a romp through wine country for Christina’s birthday, clinking glasses at Progeny Winery in Napa Valley and Restoration Hardware in Yountville.
    Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2026
  • Later on, the younger kids in bed, a gathering of lawn chairs, clinking ice, and summer crickets or cicadas, frogs, whatever, Ray, what is that?
    David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • The hot sizzle of the wok, the clatter of pans, add a righteous soundtrack to the meal.
    Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 6 Dec. 2025
  • And the dining room, with its dim lighting and lack of music, offered little distraction from the clatter of silverware.
    Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 3 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • Netflix and Amazon jingled all the way to some big audiences on Christmas Day, thanks to the NFL.
    Katie Campione, Deadline, 31 Dec. 2025
  • The next signs of the nation’s political divide might be jingling in your pocket next year.
    Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 12 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • Cloudy chords, meditative tintinnabulation, the whoosh of wind and rain, blocks of iridescent brass — all these discrete sonorities trundled by, like a train of boxcars with panoramas painted on their sides.
    Justin Davidson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021
Verb
  • Chants of peace rang out around the California Capitol Sunday as hundreds of people rallied in support of Cambodia amid tensions with neighboring country Thailand.
    Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Elsewhere in the city, loud bangs rang out and agents fired pepper balls at a much smaller crowd of protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, where demonstrators have been confronting ICE agents during daily protests.
    Hanna Park, CNN Money, 11 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Tinkle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkle. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.

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