tickle
tickle Lexical Profile
tickle Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To touch lightly in a sensitive area so as to cause involuntary twitching, shivering, or laughter.
"The father gently tickled the baby's feet, eliciting a burst of happy giggles."
To have or produce a light, itching, or tingling sensation.
"The coarse wool sweater began to tickle her neck after a few minutes of wear."
To appeal to, amuse, or delight someone's sense of humor, curiosity, or fancy.
"The clever wordplay in the novel's opening chapter thoroughly tickled the readers."
• noun
An act of lightly touching someone to cause laughter or twitching, or a light, itchy sensation in a part of the body such as the throat.
"She drank a glass of warm water to soothe the persistent tickle in her throat before her presentation."
Canadian A narrow, often shallow and treacherous saltwater strait or channel between an island and the mainland or between two islands (used especially in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada).
"The fishing boat navigated carefully through the rocky tickle as the tide began to turn."
• Rhymes for tickle
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English tikelen, likely a frequentative formation (with the suffix -le) of the base tik ('a light touch'), or related to Old English tinclian.