I. gig ‧ gle 1 /ˈɡɪɡ ə l/ BrE AmE ( past tense and past participle giggled , present participle giggling ) verb [intransitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: From the sound ]
to laugh quickly, quietly, and in a high voice, because something is funny or because you are nervous or embarrassed:
If you can’t stop giggling you’ll have to leave the room.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ laugh to make sounds with your voice and move your face, because you think that something is funny:
He looked so funny that we couldn’t stop laughing.
▪ giggle to laugh quickly in a high voice, especially in a slightly silly way, or because you are nervous or embarrassed:
A group of teenage girls were giggling in a corner.
|
She tends to giggle when she meets new people.
▪ chuckle to laugh quietly, especially because you are thinking about or reading something funny:
He was chuckling to himself over an article in the paper.
|
‘We used to get up to all kinds of mischief.’ She chuckled at the memory.
▪ snigger British English , snicker American English to laugh quietly in an unkind or unpleasant way, for example when someone is hurt or embarrassed:
Billy stood up and started to sing, and one or two people sniggered.
▪ titter to laugh quietly in a high voice, especially about something that is rude or about sex, or is embarrassing for someone:
As a nation we love to titter over politicians’ sex scandals.
|
schoolboys tittering over a magazine
▪ roar with laughter to laugh very loudly, especially with a deep voice:
I could hear my father roaring with laughter at something on TV.
▪ shriek with laughter to laugh very loudly, especially with a high voice:
Patsy chased him down the stairs, shrieking with laughter.
▪ howl with laughter to laugh very loudly – used especially about a group of people laughing together:
His plays have made audiences howl with laughter.
▪ in stitches laughing so much that you cannot stop:
It was such a funny film – it had us all in stitches.
▪ guffaw /ɡəˈfɔː $ -ˈfɒː/ to laugh very loudly and without trying to stop yourself:
The audience guffawed at his nonstop jokes.
▪ cackle to laugh loudly in an unpleasant way:
The old woman cackled at the trouble she was causing.
II. giggle 2 BrE AmE noun
1 . [countable] a quick, quiet, high-sounding laugh:
‘Catch me if you can,’ she said with a giggle.
Vicky suppressed a nervous giggle.
He looked so ridiculous I got the giggles (=started to giggle) .
Soon the whole group had the giggles.
Margaret was seized by a fit of the giggles (=she could not stop giggling) .
give somebody the giggles (=make someone start giggling)
2 . a giggle British English informal something that you think is fun to do that will not hurt anyone or anything:
Go on, it’ll be a giggle!
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ get the giggles (=start to giggle)
Now every time he looks at me I get the giggles.
▪ have the giggles (=laugh in a way that is difficult to control)
The girls had the giggles, and couldn’t stop laughing.
▪ give a giggle (=to laugh)
She gave a little giggle.
▪ give somebody the giggles (=make someone laugh)
The way he was waving his arms around gave us the giggles.
▪ stifle/suppress a giggle (=try to not laugh)
Britta covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.
▪ collapse/dissolve into giggles (= start laughing a lot)
Victor tickled the little boy, who dissolved into giggles.
■ phrases
▪ a fit of (the) giggles (=a short time when you laugh a lot in a way you cannot control)
The boys collapsed in a fit of giggles.
■ adjectives
▪ a nervous giggle
She gave a nervous giggle before answering.
▪ a hysterical giggle (=that someone cannot control)
The children were all in hysterical giggles.
▪ a high-pitched giggle
The young man gave a high-pitched giggle.