What does chortled mean?
Chortled is the past tense of chortle, meaning to laugh in a loud, hearty, and gleeful manner, often with a snorting or chuckling undertone. Unlike a polite giggle or a quiet chuckle, a chortle bursts out with evident delight, frequently carrying a sense of triumph or self-satisfaction — someone might chortle after winning a game or pulling off a clever trick. The word has an unusually charming origin: it was coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass (1871) as a blend of chuckle and snort, and readers adopted it so enthusiastically that it became a permanent part of English vocabulary. Today it appears mostly in informal writing and speech, lending a warm, whimsical tone to descriptions of laughter. Writers often reach for it precisely because it paints character: to say someone chortled suggests good humor, playfulness, and a touch of mischief all at once.
verbPast tense of chortle: to laugh in a loud, gleeful, and somewhat snorting or chuckling way, typically expressing triumphant delight.
- To laugh loudly and gleefully, especially in a triumphant or self-satisfied way.
"He chortled with glee as he revealed the surprise."
"She chortled when the prank finally came to light."
"The old man chortled over his own clever remark."
The word was invented by Lewis Carroll in 'Through the Looking-Glass' — a blend of 'chuckle' and 'snort' that proved so vivid it escaped fiction and entered everyday English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chortled
Chortled derives from chortle, a word coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1871, where it appeared as part of his nonsense verse ('O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! He chortled in his joy'). Carroll formed it as a blend — what linguists call a portmanteau word — combining elements of chuckle and snort. The coinage proved so appealing that it quickly passed from fiction into ordinary English usage within decades of the book's publication.
Related word forms
How chortled is actually used
Informal and playful in register; often conveys amusement mixed with triumph or mischief rather than simple merriment.
Easily confused with chortled
A chuckle is a quiet, subdued laugh, while a chortle is a louder, more exuberant laugh that often carries a snorting or breathy quality of triumph.