MEANING
To make a bubbling, hollow sound as liquid and air move together.
Use it for
Fluid interfering with breath; a wet throat noise; an unseen source that seems partly liquidSuggest liquid in a confined passage without immediately showing its source.
Words that belong together
- gurgle in the throat
- gurgling breath
- gurgle through fluid
On the page
His breathing gurgled behind the mask.
Something gurgled inside the sealed abdomen.
She heard the tube gurgle, then the patient's voice.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- gurgle / gurgles
- Past tense
- gurgled
- Past participle
- gurgled
- Present participle
- gurgling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- gurgle / gurgles
- Present continuous
- am/is/are gurgling
- Present perfect
- have/has gurgled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been gurgling
- Past
- gurgled
- Past continuous
- was/were gurgling
- Past perfect
- had gurgled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been gurgling
- Future
- will gurgle / gurgles
- Future continuous
- will be gurgling
- Future perfect
- will have gurgled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been gurgling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Often bodily or fluid-related; differs from a dry croak or rasp. Also a noun for the sound; it can be cheerful in other contexts. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: gurgle, gurgles, gurgled, gurgled, gurgling.
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