/ ˈtʃʌkl; NAmE / verb
chuckle (at / about sth) to laugh quietly :
[ v ]
She chuckled at the memory.
[also v speech ]
► chuckle noun :
She gave a chuckle of delight.
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (in the sense laugh convulsively ): from chuck meaning to cluck in late Middle English .