laughed; laughing; laughs
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 efforts—
Graenum Berger
Graenum Berger2
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 above—Amy Lowell
Amy Lowell1
: to influence or move by laughter
laughed the bad singer off the stage
2
: to utter with a laugh
laughs her consent
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
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Everyone’s singing, dancing, looking at each other, and laughing.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
Levi Weaver, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Her spirit, her fire, her talent, her leadership, her laugh — unforgettable.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for laugh
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
The two cracked up laughing, and not about how Ohtani was swinging the bat.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Everyone’s singing, dancing, looking at each other, and laughing.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
Noun
Y'all gave me a good laugh this morning, so thanks for that!
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Her spirit, her fire, her talent, her leadership, her laugh — unforgettable.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for laugh
Cite this Entry
“Laugh.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laugh. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
laugh
1 of 2 verb
ˈlaf 
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 noun1
: 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share