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
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 Ig Nobel apprised The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2024 The leopard-print girl reappeared, laughing and clapping. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Pugh laughed loudly about the nearly nude John Cena on stage presenting for best costume. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024 Ciara and Russell Wilson (fresh from signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers) were spotted laughing it up with Rae, while Lizzo and her date Myke Wright linked arms to take a shot. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Cartel members were seen laughing after a National Guard helicopter carrying three soldiers and a Border Patrol agent crashed near the southern border in Texas. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 9 Mar. 2024 Though their encounter lasts just a minute, Giamatti can’t stop laughing at the charade, commending Friend’s startlingly familiar and hard-to-achieve mannerisms. Jake Kring-Schreifels, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 The video showed the group laughing as draw two and draw four cards were stacked on top of one another. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024
Noun
On set, the two laugh together in between takes, both giggling as Grande leans her head on the American Horror Story alum’s shoulder. Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024 The mother of three then rolled her head back with a laugh before hopping into the former college football player’s arms. Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 Jimmy Kimmel gets big laughs in his opening monologue, then brings on the backstage crew for an ovation; Bakody spots her husband. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The remark evoked laughs as his nudity drove home the truth of his statement. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 10 Mar. 2024 Castro and Vadell’s lackadaisical tone drains the vile remarks of any solid meaning, trying to earn laughs instead. Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2024 While such stories sometimes elicit laughs, these encounters can be frightening and stressful for the people involved—and don’t always end well for the birds. Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Mar. 2024 A certain rowdiness, where the laughs are a little louder, the action hits a little harder. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 There also might be an unintentionally bad laugh because those do happen. Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 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 19 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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