chortle
/ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/
"chortle" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“chortle” is an uncommon English word, ranked #83,114 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #83,114
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A joyful, somewhat muffled laugh, rather like a snorting chuckle.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | chortle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #83,114 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chortle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for chortle is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #83,114 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for chortle in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Perhaps a blend of chuckle + snort. Coined by Lewis Carroll in his poem Jabberwocky, completed in 1855 but only introduced to the public in his 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass. The correct English form is chortle, spelled C-H-O-R-T-L-E.
Definition
- 1A joyful, somewhat muffled laugh, rather like a snorting chuckle.
- 2A similar sounding vocalisation of various birds.
Etymology
Perhaps a blend of chuckle + snort. Coined by Lewis Carroll in his poem Jabberwocky, completed in 1855 but only introduced to the public in his 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “chortle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-O-R-T-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.