- to laugh softly or to oneself
- (of animals, esp hens) to make a clucking sound
- a partly suppressed laugh
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
chuck•le /ˈtʃʌkəl/USA pronunciation
v., -led, -ling, n.
v. [no object]
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026v. [no object]
- to laugh in a soft, quiet manner:chuckling at his odd ideas.
n. [countable]
- a soft, quiet laugh:a little chuckle.
chuck•le
(chuk′əl),USA pronunciation v., chuck•led, chuck•ling, n.
v.i.
n.
chuck′ler, n.
chuck′ling•ly, adv.
v.i.
- to laugh softly or amusedly, usually with satisfaction:They chuckled at the child's efforts to walk.
- to laugh to oneself:to chuckle while reading.
- [Obs.]to cluck, as a fowl.
n.
- a soft laugh, usually of satisfaction.
- [Obs.]the cluck of a hen.
- chuck3 + -le 1590–1600
chuck′ling•ly, adv.
- 4. See laugh.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
chuckle /ˈtʃʌkəl/ vb (intransitive)
'chuckle' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):