yawn

1 of 2

verb

ˈyȯn 

ˈyän

yawned; yawning; yawns

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

2 of 2

noun

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

Noun

• bore
• drip

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

My beans on toast was only halfway eaten when the waitress, yawning and heading into the final stretch of a triple-shift, discovered me. —Hazlitt, 18 June 2025

The most common form of empathy among humans is yawning. —Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025

Noun

Inside, everything is slow, wispy, a soothing yawn of a life. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 11 June 2025

There’s a moment in the episode, where Cooper yawns, which was not in the script, and Doherty comes back with a perfect line. —Peter White, Deadline, 11 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English yenen, yanen, from Old English ginian; akin to Old High German ginēn to yawn, Latin hiare, Greek chainein

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for yawn

• aune
• bon
• bonne
• brawn
• chon
• con
• conn
• crohn
• dawn
• drawn
• fawn
• gone

Kids Definition

yawn

1 of 2 verb

ˈyȯn 

ˈyän

1

: to open wide : gape

2

: to open the mouth wide and take a deep breath usually as a reaction to being tired or bored

yawner noun

yawn

2 of 2 noun

: an opening of the mouth wide while taking a deep breath often as an involuntary reaction

Medical Definition

yawn

1 of 2 intransitive verb

ˈyȯn, ˈyän 

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

yawn

2 of 2 noun

: an opening of the mouth wide while taking a deep breath often as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom