cackle

Everyday

1. The loud, harsh sound a hen or goose makes. tree →
2. (verb) To laugh in a loud, harsh, high way, often unpleasantly. tree →
3. (noun) Such a laugh. tree →
4. (UK, informal) Silly talk: «cut the cackle» means stop chatting and get to the point. tree →

In the lessons

In stories, witches and villains cackle when their plan works. On farms, hens cackle after laying an egg. It tells the reader a laugh sounds mean or wild.

Examples

• The witch gave a wicked cackle. tree →
• The hens cackled in the farmyard. tree →
• The villain cackled with delight. tree →
• My aunt has a loud cackle of a laugh. tree →
• Cut the cackle and get on with your work! tree →
• The goose cackled at us as we walked past. tree →
• Many an anxious minute his brothers and sisters had looking for him, while his mother ran to and fro cackling in fear and dismay. tree →

Note

Regular verb: cackled. A cackle is harsher than a giggle or a chuckle.