giggle

giggle — verb

1. To make short, soft laughing sounds that keep coming back and are hard to stop,

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

To make short, soft laughing sounds that keep coming back and are hard to stop, usually because you find something a little silly, rude, or feel that it is the wrong moment to laugh.

Example

The children giggled when the teacher's chair made a strange noise.

Ada could not stop giggling during the principal's serious speech.

collocation: can't stop giggling

Common collocations
  • giggle nervously
  • giggle uncontrollably
  • giggle at someone
  • giggle about something
  • keep giggling
  • start giggling
Synonyms
  • chuckle

    A warmer, more relaxed quiet laugh that is easier to control. Chuckling does not carry the same sense of nervousness or embarrassment.

  • titter

    A short, high-pitched laugh, often from a group. Titter sounds more restrained and may suggest shyness rather than genuine amusement.

  • snicker

    A disrespectful or mocking laugh, usually at someone's mistake or misfortune. Snicker has a more negative, unkind tone than giggle.

Antonyms
  • sob

    To cry loudly — the opposite emotional expression.

  • frown

    To show displeasure with one's face, the opposite of laughing.

Grammar Patterns

giggle + at + noun/pronoun

giggle + about + noun/pronoun

Usage Note

Often used with at or about to name what causes the laughter. The at pattern is more common for a person or performance; the about pattern is more common for a story or topic.

Common Mistakes

She giggled of his funny hat.
She giggled at his funny hat.
The correct preposition is at or about, not of.
He giggled loudly for five whole minutes.
He giggled quietly for a few seconds.
Giggle describes a quiet laugh; for loud/uncontrolled laughing, use howl with laughter or crack up.

giggle — noun

Word family

  • giggly
    adjectiveB2
  • giggling
    adjectiveB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe quiet forms of laughter, but they differ in tone and context. Giggle is the most common and neutral — it implies short, repeated, hard-to-control laughs, often triggered by nervousness or finding something silly or rude. Chuckle is warmer and more relaxed: you chuckle softly to yourself when something amuses you, without the sense of losing control. Titter is a short, high-pitched laugh typically produced by a group, often suggesting shyness or embarrassment rather than genuine fun. Snicker (American) or snigger (British) carries a negative, mocking tone — it is the kind of laugh directed at someone's mistake or misfortune rather than shared amusement. For example: The children giggled at the rude word in the story. The old man chuckled as he read his newspaper. The audience tittered awkwardly after the speaker's joke fell flat. The boys snickered when their classmate tripped on the way to the blackboard.

giggle ↗chuckletittersnicker

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • the giggles
  • a fit of the giggles
  • a case of the giggles
  • a bit of a giggle
  • have a good giggle
  • get the giggles

Prepositions

Etymology

Germanic (onomatopoeic)Middle EnglishEnglish

Giggle comes from Middle English gigelen, which probably imitates the sound of repeated quiet laughter. Related words appear in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch gichelen and German gickeln, suggesting an ancient onomatopoeic root that captures the sound of short, breathy laughs.