# gargle

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈɡɑːɡəl/ · frequency rank #60,822

## Definitions
1. To clean one's mouth by holding water or some other liquid in the back of the mouth and blowing air out from the lungs.
2. To make a sound like the one made while gargling.
3. To clean a specific part of the body by gargling (almost always throat or mouth).
4. To use (a liquid) for purposes of cleaning one's mouth or throat by gargling.
5. To perform oral sex on (a person or genitals).

## Etymology
From French gargouiller (“to gargle”), from Old French gargouille, gargole (“gutter, throat”). Compare gargoyle and Spanish garganta. Displaced non-native Middle English gargargisen (“to gargle”) from Latin, and native Old English swillan (“to gargle”) (ancestor of English swill).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gargle