yawn

verb

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\ 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 There are also township government elections in the south and southwest suburbs, but don’t yawn them off, the Southtown’s Ted Slowik writes. — Lisa Donovan, chicagotribune.com, 23 Dec. 2020 Sometimes someone would yawn or freeze with a tortured expression. — Sam Anderson, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2020 In America there is a yawning partisan gap in trust (see chart 2). — The Economist, 3 June 2020 His dancers are often caught in awkward, ungainly poses, stretching and yawning, or slumped, exhausted. — Carol Strickland, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 May 2020 There is time to make up the yawning gap between cities and suburbs before this census year is over, but the novel coronavirus makes the task more daunting. — Dan Horn, Cincinnati.com, 24 Apr. 2020 Anything less will ensure that the digital divide in this country will remain a yawning gap. — Gigi Sohn, Wired, 28 Apr. 2020 As more firms like Amazon go to $15 per hour minimum wage, the yawning pay gap with the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour creates a dichotomy that should not continue, even for small businesses. — Bill George, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2020 Israel: Forces on both sides of the country’s yawning political divide were maneuvering to gain advantage, two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won another election but fell three parliamentary seats short of a majority. — Mike Ives, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Even though there’s been advances in Bluetooth technology to eliminate the cabling and multi-firing speakers meaning far fewer are needed, consumers have so far given immersive a big yawn. — Bobby Owsinski, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2021 Not my friends who were already drifting out of my life, gentle and persistent as a yawn. — Jen Mcguire, Good Housekeeping, 5 May 2021 The study, published last month in the journal Animal Behaviour, finds that after a yawn sweeps through a group of lions, the animals tend to coordinate their subsequent movements, reports Mary Bates for National Geographic. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Apr. 2021 Asuka yawned during this match and her yawn was a more charismatic than a lot of promos in WWE. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 5 Apr. 2021 Surovell asked about abolishing the death penalty — and got a big yawn. — Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2021 And Ernie would emit a great big yawn, or a yelp, or a prolonged, chirruping cry. — Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 16 Mar. 2021 Sometimes hours would go by without so much as a yawn. — Ambar Pardilla, NBC News, 11 Mar. 2021 The Chicago Tribune marked the birth of a baseball league for Black players with a yawn and an occasional box score atop a list of semiprofessional teams’ results. — Ron Grossman, chicagotribune.com, 22 Jan. 2021

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.