Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <word-request>
Title: Word for a small burst of laughter that can't be held back
Question: What do you call the small burst of laugh that people let out when they want to refrain from laughing, but can't? You know the "pfft" sound? I am not sure if it only happens when you refrain from laughing, but yeah some people I guess laugh like that.

Answers:
sents: text: You might call it a stifled laugh , as in, “Mary tried to contain herself, but couldn’t help letting out a stifled laugh.”
text: You could also use the word snicker (either as a verb or noun) or possibly titter - though the latter might sound a little dated and silly.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/89131/Mixolydian
score: 27
sents: text: This "pfft" could be called a "snicker".
text: Also, sometimes the stifled laugh comes out not as a "pfft" but more of a "snort" if you try to keep the laugh inside by shutting your mouth.
text: At deviantart.com , you can see the entirety of a cartoon titled "What are you Laughing at?"
text: It may be hard to read because the lettering is so small, but the characters are trying not to laugh, and are emitting the words "snicker" & "snort" (highlighted in yellow) instead.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/40154/Lorel C.
score: 15
sents: text: How about the word snort .
text: It could be used in a sentence like: When Nick told his wife about the narrow escape from a traffic ticket
text: Betty tried to withhold a chuckle that came out as a snort.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/88091/Michael Karas
score: 9
sents: text: How about Titter?
text: I came across it a while ago doing a crossword on a plane.
text: titter /ˈtɪtə/
text: verb verb: titter ;
text: 3rd person present: titters ; past tense:
text: tittered ; past participle:
text: tittered ; gerund or present participle:
text: tittering give a short, half-suppressed laugh; giggle. "
text: her stutter caused the children to titter" synonyms : giggle, snigger, snicker, tee-hee, give a half-suppressed laugh, chuckle; noun noun: titter ; plural noun: titters a short, half-suppressed laugh.
text: "there were titters from the gallery" synonyms : giggle, snigger, snicker, tee-hee, half-suppressed laugh, chuckle;
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/96175/Hani Umer
score: 7
sents: text: According to wordhippo , a suppressed laugh is: A half-suppressed, typically scornful laugh
text: The site also offers these synonyms: snigger, snicker, giggle, chortle, sneer, cackle, chuckle, guffaw, simper
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/96306/Michael Brandeis
score: 3
sents: text: I tend to think of guffaw, although Merriam-Webster says this is "loud laughter," how about a stifled guffaw?
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/96381/L O
score: 1
sents: text: I think at this point pfft is an onomatopoeia.
text: It's a part of my vocabulary at least, but it's more like a stand in for the word pashaw .
text: Which is an exclamation about the hilarity of an incredulous situation.
text: It's a way to 'call bullshit' without swearing, or to preserve the lightheartedness of a conversation.
text: He let out a pfft
text: but I wasn't sure if he was actually annoyed, or just trying to not hurt my feelings by laughing it off.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/5117/Mazura
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
This "pfft" could be called a "snicker".  You could say titter..  A short, half-suppressed laugh
The following are all possibilities: "stifled laugh", "snicker" "snort", "titter" and "guffaw".