- to ring or cause to ring with a series of high tinny sounds, like a small bell
- (transitive) to announce or summon by such a ringing
- (intransitive) Brit informal to urinate
- a high clear ringing sound
- the act of tinkling
- Brit informal a telephone call
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
tin•kle /ˈtɪŋkəl/USA pronunciation
v., -kled, -kling, n.
v.
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026v.
- to (cause to) make light ringing sounds, as a small bell: [no object]A bell tinkled in the background.[~ + object]He tinkled the bell.
- to make known by tinkling:[~ + object]to tinkle the time.
n. [countable]
- a tinkling sound.
- an instance of tinkling.
- Informal Termsa telephone call.
tin•kle
(ting′kəl),USA pronunciation v., -kled, -kling, n.
v.i.
v.t.
n.
v.i.
- to give forth or make a succession of short, light, ringing sounds, as a small bell.
- to run one's fingers lightly over a keyboard instrument or to play such an instrument simply or badly.
- Slang Terms[Baby Talk.]to urinate.
v.t.
- to cause to tinkle or jingle:The goat tinkled its bell every time it raised its head. Who's tinkling the piano?
- to make known, call attention to, attract, or summon by tinkling.
n.
- a tinkling sound or tune.
- an act or instance of tinkling.
- Informal Termsa telephone call:Give me a tinkle before you leave for Europe.
- 1350–1400; Middle English tynclen, frequentative of tinken to clink; imitative
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
tinkle /ˈtɪŋkəl/ vb
'tinkling' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):