giggle

Formsgiggles, giggling, giggled

Pluralgiggles

1. 1
   verbintransitive

   To give a light, soft laugh, whether from playfulness, nervousness, or affectation.

   Students often giggle nervously when the teacher calls on them unexpectedly.

   He giggled at the joke despite trying hard to keep a straight face.

   Similarlaugh, titter

   Note

   A word that probably imitates the sound it names. It appeared in the early 16th century, though it may instead come from dialect gig, "to creak," with the -le ending that marks a repeated action. Its near neighbor is titter. Both name a small, half-suppressed laugh, and both pair easily with nervously, at a joke, or like children.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A high-pitched, silly laugh.

   A soft giggle gave away her hiding spot behind the curtain.

   Their giggles echoed through the empty classroom long after the bell rang.

   Similartitter, chuckle, snicker, laugh

3. 3
   nouncolloquialcountable

   Fun, or an amusing situation or episode.

   The office party turned out to be a good giggle after all.

   Painting the fence together was more of a giggle than a chore.

   Similarlaugh, lark, hoot

   Note

   Here the laugh has become the occasion that causes it, and the noun settles into a few fixed frames. Usually it is singular and softened by a hedge: quite a giggle, a bit of a giggle. The plural appears in for giggles, meaning just for the fun of it, as with itching powder down someone's shirt. Unlike the high-pitched laugh, it names no sound, and nobody need actually giggle.

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