yawn

verb

\ ˈyȯn

, ˈyän\

yawned; yawning; yawns

Definition of yawn

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to open wide : gape

2 : to open the mouth wide and take a deep breath usually as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom

transitive verb

1 : to utter with a yawn

2 : to accomplish with or impel by yawns his grandchildren yawned him to bed— L. L. King

yawn

noun

Definition of yawn (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : gap, cavity

2 : an opening of the mouth wide while taking a deep breath often as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom also : a reaction resembling a yawn a … success at the box office but drew only yawns from critics — Current Biography

3 : bore entry 5 this book is kind of a yawn— Ilene L. Cooper

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about yawn

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Examples of yawn in a Sentence

Verb

Students were yawning in class.

Noun

I tried to stifle a yawn. as neither candidate was willing to make an unequivocal statement about anything, the debate proved to be a complete yawn

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Eight generations later, the racial wealth gap is both yawning and growing. — Calvin Schermerhorn, Twin Cities, "Calvin Schermerhorn: Why the racial wealth gap persists more than 150 years after emancipation," 27 June 2019 What are sneezing, yawning, hunger, thirst, and lust? — Claudia Kalb, National Geographic, "Why Leonardo da Vinci’s brilliance endures, 500 years after his death," 12 June 2019 On a grander scale, cantilevered viewing platforms that overhang yawning chasms such as the Grand Canyon Skywalk and the Glacier Skywalk at Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, are truly spectacular and awe-inspiring. — Quanta Magazine, "How to Hang Far Out Over the Edge," 17 Nov. 2016 Zhang’s excitement is justified: the jawbone, known as the Xiahe mandible after the county in China where it was found, fills a yawning gap in our understanding of this mysterious ancient. — National Geographic, "Mysterious ancient human found on the ‘roof of the world’," 1 May 2019 Giuliani also, notably, has repeatedly alluded to other things for which the money Trump repaid Cohen was used, and there's a yawning gap between the $130,000 Daniels was paid and the at least $460,000 in payments Trump made to Cohen. — Aaron Blake, Washington Post, "It sure sounds like other women may have gotten payoffs from Michael Cohen," 7 May 2018 Todd McNair slipped into the front row in the fifth-floor room at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon, rested a foot-thick sheaf of documents on his lap and yawned. — Nathan Fenno, latimes.com, "Seven years after suing the NCAA, Todd McNair will finally take the witness stand on Thursday," 3 May 2018 The gap between long-maturity bond yields and nominal growth, which historically have tended to track each other, is yawning wider. — Richard Barley, WSJ, "Global Bonds Need to Catch Up on the News," 30 July 2018 Get your z's... Ever found yourself yawning a ton while driving and barely able to keep your eyes open or concentrate on the road? — Seventeen Editors, Seventeen, "7 Driving Tips For Teens That'll Seriously Help You Become a Pro On The Road," 14 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

After that yawn-inducing signing, pressure mounts to sign a marquee name. — SI.com, "Moyesian Utopia: Scripting an Alternate Reality Where Man Utd Didn't Sack David Moyes," 26 June 2019 And people like Kent Ekeroth who, as spokesperson for Sweden Democrats, another (yawn) far-right party, was captured on video arming himself with an aluminum pipe after trying to pick a fight with a comedian of Kurdish descent. — Corey Seymour, Vogue, "I Watched the New Steve Bannon Documentary, The Brink, So You Don’t Have To," 27 Mar. 2019 Where a few new planets once shook up our picture of our own place in the cosmos, data dumps about hundreds of newfound planets now elicit a yawn. — Andrew Moseman, Popular Mechanics, "Kepler's Last Light, and Its Towering Legacy," 8 Feb. 2019 Look no further than a pathetically boring campaign that unfolded this week, to the yawns of the handful of people who followed it and the utter disinterest of the vast majority of Europe’s voters. — Joseph C. Sternberg, WSJ, "Europeans Wish They Had a Midterm Election," 8 Nov. 2018 But squeezing your facial muscles during a yawn can temporarily close off these ducts, keeping those tears in your eyes a little longer than usual. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Why Do My Eyes Water When I Yawn?," 25 Sep. 2018 As for the team itself, the 76ers were on the rise after years of yawn-inducing mediocrity. — Scott Cacciola, New York Times, "Sixers’ Throwback Anthem Becomes the Soundtrack of a Comeback," 4 Jan. 2018 The ratings for the show have been consistently low, and until now most of the responses involved yawns or Jon Stewart falling asleep. — Charlotte Hilton Andersen, Redbook, "Explaining the "All-American Muslim" Controversy to Our Kids," 15 Dec. 2011 For decades, the O in O Street downtown might as well have symbolized a big yawn. — Tony Bizjak, sacbee, "This may be downtown Sacramento's most boring corridor. Would a facelift change that?," 27 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'yawn.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.