/ ˈgɪgl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
giggle (at / about sb/sth) to laugh in a silly way because you are amused, embarrassed or nervous :
[ v ]
The girls giggled at the joke.
They giggled nervously as they waited for their turn.
[also v speech ]
■ noun
1.
[ C ] a slight silly repeated laugh :
She gave a nervous giggle.
Matt collapsed into giggles and hung up the phone.
2.
[ sing. ] ( BrE , informal ) a thing that you think is amusing :
We only did it for a giggle .
3.
the giggles [ pl. ] ( informal ) continuous giggling that you cannot control or stop :
I get the giggles when I'm nervous.
She had a fit of the giggles and had to leave the room.
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WORD ORIGIN
early 16th cent.: imitative.