tickle
verb /ˈtɪkl/
/ˈtɪkl/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they tickle | /ˈtɪkl/ /ˈtɪkl/ |
| he / she / it tickles | /ˈtɪklz/ /ˈtɪklz/ |
| past simple tickled | /ˈtɪkld/ /ˈtɪkld/ |
| past participle tickled | /ˈtɪkld/ /ˈtɪkld/ |
| -ing form tickling | /ˈtɪklɪŋ/ /ˈtɪklɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] tickle (somebody/something) to move your fingers on a sensitive part of somebody’s body in a way that makes them laugh
- The bigger girls used to chase me and tickle me.
- I tickled his feet with a feather.
- Stop tickling!
- [transitive, intransitive] tickle (something) to produce a slightly uncomfortable feeling in a sensitive part of the body; to have a feeling like this
- His beard was tickling her cheek.
- My throat tickles.
- a tickling cough
- [transitive] to please and interest somebody
- tickle somebody/something to tickle somebody’s imagination
- tickle somebody to do something I was tickled to discover that we'd both done the same thing.
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘be delighted or thrilled’): perhaps a frequentative of the verb tick, or an alteration of Scots and dialect kittle ‘to tickle’.
Idioms
be tickled pink
- (informal) to be very pleased
- She was tickled pink to be given flowers.
tickle somebody’s fancy
- (informal) to please somebody
- See if any of these tickle your fancy.
- If you see something that tickles your fancy, I’ll buy it for you.