tinkle

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tinkle^¹

/ˈtɪŋkəl/ US

Rhymes with -ɪŋkəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English tinclen, equivalent to tink + -le (frequentative suffix). Cognate with West Frisian tinkelje (“to tinkle”), Dutch tinkelen (“to tinkle”), German Low German tinkeln (“to flicker, glitter, sparkle”).

verb tinkles · tinkling · tinkled

intransitive To make light metallic sounds, rather like a very small bell. The glasses tinkled together as they were placed on the table.
transitive To cause to tinkle.
transitive To indicate, signal, etc. by tinkling. The butler tinkled dinner.
To hear, or resound with, a small, sharp sound. And his ears tinkled, and the colour fled.
informal, intransitive To urinate.
Similar: urinate

noun tinkles

countable, uncountable A light metallic sound, resembling the tinkling of bells or wind chimes. The Man's Wife heard the tinkle-tinkle of little stones and loose earth falling off the roadway, and the sliding roar of the man and horse going down.
UK, countable, informal, uncountable A telephone call. Give me a tinkle when you arrive.
Similar: call, ring
countable, euphemistic, informal, uncountable An act of urination.
countable, euphemistic, informal, uncountable Urine.

Tinkle^²

proper noun Tinkles

A surname.

Translations

Every language

verb to make light metallic sounds

Português	tinir
Français	tinter
Deutsch	klingeln, klimpern
Русский	бренча́ть brenčátʹ, звене́ть zvenétʹ, дребезжа́ть drebezžátʹ

noun light metallic sound

Português	tinido
Français	tintement
Deutsch	Klingeln
Русский	звя́канье zvjákanʹje, звон zvon

noun informal: phone call

Deutsch	Telefonat, Anruf

noun euphemistic: act of urination

Deutsch	Pipi

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Cite this

MLA

"tinkle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tinkle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tinkle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tinkle

Chicago

"tinkle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tinkle.

BibTeX

@misc{tinkle_2026,
  title = {tinkle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tinkle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}