tinkle 1 of 2

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

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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
Outside the window, light glints off the pool, and a stone waterfall tinkles. Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2023 Some of the nuts landed with a metallic tinkle. Kiliii Yüyan, History & Culture, 17 Dec. 2020
Verb
Guests in silk blouses and slacks sipped scotch while the piano man tinkled the keys. Erin Florio, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Nov. 2024 That had to have felt like Old Man Winter tinkling on his shoulder. Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 5 Aug. 2024 See All Example Sentences for tinkle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkle
Noun
  • Cannes Market This wouldn’t be the first saber rattle from Trump that doesn’t come to pass as first mooted.
    Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 5 May 2025
  • On Tuesday, not so much, the Lakers showing their clear dominance in every area backed by a legendarily springtime loud home crowd that annually shakes, rattles and rolls.
    Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • To show that behind the wine glasses clinking in celebration, there are also tears, fears and moments of reckoning.
    Jessica Guerrieri, People.com, 9 May 2025
  • Applause and clinking glasses greeted each celebrity ascent up the Met’s iconic steps.
    Vogue, Vogue, 7 May 2025
Noun
  • No 9, a physical presence up top who wears his shorts like a 1980s Rugby League player and clatters into opponents with a ferocity to match.
    Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
  • There were hits with a bamboo clatter stick, which projects a rattling sound.
    Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • Men dressed as 1880s gunfighters are forever clomping up and down wooden sidewalks with jingling spurs and holstered revolvers on their belts.
    Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Though this installation of tintinnabulation has been a feature of the garden for more than a decade, some frequent visitors only noticed the chimes this summer, when a small crew recently installed them in a large linden tree adjacent to Parade Stadium.
    Kim Hyatt, Star Tribune, 23 July 2021
  • Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021
Verb
  • In many ways, this village felt as if it was frozen in time, only a ringing clocktower bell served as a reminder of every passing hour.
    Daria Bachmann, Travel + Leisure, 8 May 2025
  • Wedding bells are ringing at grocery stores thanks to Blue Bell Creameries.
    Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 1 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Tinkle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkle. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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