laugh

1 of 2

verb

ˈlaf How to pronounce laugh (audio)
ˈläf
laughed; laughing; laughs

intransitive verb

1
a
: to show emotion (such as mirth, joy, or scorn) with a chuckle or explosive vocal sound
The audience was laughing hysterically.
b
: to find amusement or pleasure in something
laughed at his own clumsiness
c
: to become amused or derisive
a very skeptical public laughed at our early effortsGraenum Berger
2
a
: to produce the sound or appearance of laughter
a laughing brook
b
: to be of a kind that inspires joy
the blue sky of Autumn laughs aboveAmy Lowell

transitive verb

1
: to influence or move by laughter
laughed the bad singer off the stage
2
: to utter with a laugh
laughs her consent
laughingly adverb

laugh

2 of 2

noun

1
: the act of laughing
2
a
: a cause for derision or merriment : joke
b
: an expression of scorn or mockery : jeer
3
laughs plural : diversion, sport
play baseball just for laughs

Examples of laugh in a Sentence

Verb What are you laughing about? The audience was laughing hysterically. I've never laughed so hard in my life. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw what he was wearing. I laughed out loud when I saw him. He laughed so hard I thought he'd die laughing. The movie was hilarious. We laughed our heads off. “I've never seen anything so ridiculous,” he laughed. Noun He gave a loud laugh. a joke that always gets a big laugh The movie has a lot of laughs. You're going to be a movie star? That's a laugh.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The show’s ambiguity already drove local viewers insane, laughs Malcolm. Marta Balaga, Variety, 25 Mar. 2024 If in doubt, laugh There is one dopamine boost that never fails: laughter. Ana Morales, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2024 Damian Fagon, the Chief Equity Officer at OCM, laughed, the mood was ebullient. Wesley Parnell, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2024 Something as simple as laughing, yawning, or spending a lot of time in front of screens can cause your eyes to water. Amanda Gardner, Health, 21 Mar. 2024 The audience devours it, laughing louder with each repetition. Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 Get the whole family laughing with these April Fool's pranks for kids, and maybe a few for the parents too. Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 21 Mar. 2024 The sounds of people laughing were interrupted by loud thuds of heads hitting rocks or pipes, followed by more laughing — and words unprintable in a family newspaper. Mark E. Potts, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 After a few short weeks of experiencing something even vaguely similar, the Kensington Palace media operation has become an international laughing stock. Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024
Noun
That question of contemporary usage and semantics is one of about a hundred things that will come to be debated over the course of an hour-and-a-half comedy that finds its laughs largely in exploring racial and/or generational differences. Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Mar. 2024 His expression is somber by default, but his laugh reveals the little boy who lives on in my mind. Emefa Addo Agawu, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2024 Even as late as Wednesday night in South Korea, TV cameras showed Ohtani and Mizuhara sharing a laugh together in the dugout during the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ season-opening win over the San Diego Padres. Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024 Overall, viewers can expect more laughs this season. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 22 Mar. 2024 Murray shows up in two scenes, punches the clock, gets his laughs, picks up his check and goes home. Ty Burr, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 The two have a laugh and Capote hands her a Valium to wash down with scotch. Paula Mejía, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2024 Following the soundbite in the song, Grande laughs, closing the track, and Eternal Sunshine. Gary Trust, Billboard, 18 Mar. 2024 Colin Jost has a laugh with Victor Cruz at Five Iron Golf in New York City on March 13. Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'laugh.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, from Old English hliehhan; akin to Old High German lachēn to laugh

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of laugh was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near laugh

Cite this Entry

“Laugh.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laugh. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

laugh

1 of 2 verb
ˈlaf How to pronounce laugh (audio)
ˈlȧf
1
a
: to show emotion (as mirth, joy, or scorn) with a chuckle or explosive vocal sound
b
: to become amused
2
: to utter with a laugh
she laughed, "What fun!"
laugher noun

laugh

2 of 2 noun
1
: the act or sound of laughing
2
a
: something funny
that game was a real laugh
b
: something deserving scorn
He's an expert? That's a laugh

More from Merriam-Webster on laugh

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