What does gargle mean?
To gargle is to rinse the mouth or throat by swishing liquid around it and then spitting it out, often using warm salt water, mouthwash, or a medicated preparation. As a noun, a gargle is the liquid used for this purpose, especially when it is intended to soothe or treat throat discomfort. The word can also describe a bubbling, gurgling, or rattling sound made in the throat, giving it a vivid, slightly comic sound in informal use. Gargle is common in British and American English, particularly in advice about coughs, sore throats, and oral hygiene. Its usefulness lies in combining a concrete practical action with an unusually expressive sound: the word both names the act and recalls the noise associated with liquid moving through the mouth and throat.
A liquid, often medicated, used to rinse the mouth and throat.
"The doctor recommended a warm salt-water gargle for her sore throat."
The noun is commonly used in medical and health contexts. It may refer to a single preparation or, with a plural form, to separate medicinal mixtures.
To rinse the mouth or throat by swishing liquid around it and spitting it out; also, to make a bubbling or gurgling sound in the throat.
"She gargled with mint mouthwash after lunch."
The practical sense is dominant in health advice, while the sound-based sense is more figurative and literary or informal.
Gargles is the standard plural when referring to separate liquid preparations. The noun may also be treated as uncountable when referring to the practice or product generally.
"The pharmacy stocks several gargles for people with irritated throats."
The word for swishing liquid around your throat also evokes the bubbling, rolling sound of the liquid itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of gargle
The word entered English through Old French, from a Medieval Latin form related to Latin gurgulare, meaning to gurgle or make a bubbling sound. Its root was probably imitative, representing the sound of liquid rolling or bubbling. The related English word gurgle belongs to the same sound-based family, while the medical sense of gargle developed from the practice of using liquid to cleanse or soothe the throat.
Related word forms
How gargle is actually used
In medical and everyday health contexts, gargle usually refers to rinsing the mouth or throat with a medicated, salted, or otherwise prepared liquid. The sound-based sense is less common but remains idiomatic in both British and American English.
Easily confused with gargle
Gargling is the deliberate act of swishing liquid around the mouth or throat, whereas gurgling usually describes the bubbling sound that liquid makes as it flows.