tickle
tick·le/ˈtɪkl̩/noun, verb, adverb
tickle is spelled T-I-C-K-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (tick·le). It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tickle means “The act of tickling” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tickle is tickles.
How many letters and syllables are in tickle?
| Letters | 6: T-I-C-K-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: tick·le |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tickle?
Tickle appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tickle?
- /ˈtɪkl̩/
Tickle has 2 syllables, split tick·le in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tickle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tickle
- tickles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- tickling participle, present
- tickled participle, past
- more tickle comparative
- most tickle superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tickle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of tickling.
- 2
An itchy feeling resembling the result of tickling.
I have a persistent tickle in my throat.
- 3
informalA light tap of the ball.
- 4
A narrow strait, such as between an island and the shore.
verb
- 1
To touch repeatedly or stroke delicately in a manner which typically causes laughter, pleasure and twitching.
He tickled Nancy's tummy, and she started to giggle.
- 2
To feel as if the body part in question is being tickled.
My nose tickles, and I'm going to sneeze!
- 3
To appeal to someone's taste, curiosity etc.
- 4
To cause delight or amusement in.
He was tickled to receive such a wonderful gift.
- 5
To feel titillation.
- 6
To catch fish in the hand (usually in rivers or smaller streams) by manually stimulating the fins.
- 7
archaicTo be excited or heartened.
adverb
- 1
Insecurely, precariously, unstably.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteChangeable, capricious; insecure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tickle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chatouille , chatouiller, faire guili-guili |
| German | Kitzeln , kitzeln |
| Portuguese | cócegas, cosca, cosquinha , fazer cócegas, titilar, fazer cosca |
| Spanish | cosquillas, coscas , hacer cosquillas, cosquillear , cosquilleo, hormigueo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tickle come from?
From Middle English tiklen, tikelen, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a frequentative form of Middle English tikken (“to touch lightly”), thus equivalent to tick + -le; or perhaps related to Old English tinclian (“to tickle”). Compare North Frisian tigele (“to tickle”) (Hallig dialect), and tiikle (“to tickle”) (Amrum dialect), German dialectal zicklen (“to excite; stir up”). Alternatively, from a metathetic alteration of Middle English kitelen ("to tickle"; see kittle). Both are ultimately sound-symbolic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).