What does gargled mean?
Gargled is the past tense and past participle of gargle, the familiar verb for rinsing the mouth or throat with a liquid while forcing air through it. Gargling with warm salt water or mouthwash is a common home remedy for a sore or irritated throat, although it does not cure the underlying cause of illness. The word can also describe a bubbling or rattling sound, as when liquid moves through a narrow opening. As an adjective, gargled describes a rough, strained, or liquid-sounding voice, often one affected by throat soreness. The sound-based image behind the word is fitting: gargling produces the conspicuous bubbling noise for which the word is best known. Although the medical sense is now its most familiar use, gargle has long conveyed both the act of cleansing the throat and the gurgling sound associated with it.
To rinse the mouth or throat with liquid by bubbling air through it, or to produce a bubbling or rattling sound.
"The doctor instructed him to gargle the warm solution three times a day."
The sound-related sense is figurative or descriptive, as in a report that water gargled through the pipe.
Having a rough, strained, or liquid-sounding voice, especially because of throat irritation.
"He tried to make an announcement through his gargled voice."
This usage commonly appears in the fixed phrase 'a gargled voice.'
Before gargling meant cleaning your throat, its ancestor could mean gurgling—or chattering.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of gargled
The verb entered English through Middle English from Old French garguler, associated with gurgling or chattering. The English word developed senses connected both with making a bubbling sound and with washing or rinsing the throat. Its relationship with gurgle reflects the shared imitative character of the older word, whose French form could refer to both liquid sounds and noisy chatter.
Related word forms
How gargled is actually used
The word is common in both British and American English. It is especially associated with soothing a sore throat; in the adjectival sense, a gargled voice is generally understood as rough or croaky rather than as speech that is deliberately gurgled.
Easily confused with gargled
Gargled usually refers to rinsing the mouth or throat with liquid, whereas gurgled more often describes a bubbling or rattling sound.