tinkle 1 of 2

as in rattle
a series of short high ringing sounds the soothing tinkle of the wind chime on the back porch

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tinkle

2 of 2

verb

as in to clink
to make a repeated sharp light ringing sound the bell around the cat's neck tinkled as he ran across the yard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tinkle
Noun
Outside the window, light glints off the pool, and a stone waterfall tinkles. Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2023 Some of the nuts landed with a metallic tinkle. Kiliii Yüyan, History & Culture, 17 Dec. 2020
Verb
Soft music tinkled in the white marble lobby, where there was hardly a soul walking in or out on a summer workday. Paula Aceves, Curbed, 31 Oct. 2024 Gone is Greenwell’s glittering ceremony, the long sentences tinkling with semicolons. Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for tinkle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkle
Noun
  • On Tuesday, not so much, the Lakers showing their clear dominance in every area backed by a legendarily springtime loud home crowd that annually shakes, rattles and rolls.
    Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Traditional rattles are still made out of metal cans or gourds and clapper sticks were originally made from elderberry branches, Cohen said.
    Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Sure, Italians look darn elegant and effortless sipping a spritz, but that cigar ring clinking the glass is purposefully chosen and those sunglasses (likely bought at the local ottica) weren’t just a quick find at a gas station.
    Nneya Richards, Travel + Leisure, 30 Mar. 2025
  • Kendall Jenner clinks glasses with Billy Dec at the Blueprint Underground Cocktail Club in Nashville, Tennessee on March 13.
    Escher Walcott, People.com, 22 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • No 9, a physical presence up top who wears his shorts like a 1980s Rugby League player and clatters into opponents with a ferocity to match.
    Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
  • There were hits with a bamboo clatter stick, which projects a rattling sound.
    Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Men dressed as 1880s gunfighters are forever clomping up and down wooden sidewalks with jingling spurs and holstered revolvers on their belts.
    Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
  • The first half of the instrumental sounds like wind chimes jingling around in a storm.
    Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Though this installation of tintinnabulation has been a feature of the garden for more than a decade, some frequent visitors only noticed the chimes this summer, when a small crew recently installed them in a large linden tree adjacent to Parade Stadium.
    Kim Hyatt, Star Tribune, 23 July 2021
  • Shivaree, chthonian, erumpent, tintinnabulation, exonumia, requiescat, deipnosophist, omphaloskepsis, horripilation, deliquesce, apopemptic.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021
Verb
  • Wedding bells are ringing at grocery stores thanks to Blue Bell Creameries.
    Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 1 May 2025
  • For example, just as a bell ringing slightly out of tune might indicate a crack or imperfection, deviations in gravitational wave frequencies can point to asymmetries in the black hole's shape.
    Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 30 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Tinkle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinkle. Accessed 9 May. 2025.

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