laughingstock
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of laughingstock
Explanation
If you're a laughingstock, you're the butt of jokes or the subject of mockery. If you always wear shiny purple polka-dotted pants to school, you might be a laughingstock — or you might be a trendsetter. Someone who's a laughingstock is ridiculed or mocked, often by a group of people rather than just one or two. When you feel like a laughingstock, you're humiliated, taunted or even a victim of practical jokes and pranks. Stock was once commonly used to mean "dull recipient of some action" in now-obsolete words like "whipping-stock," "jesting-stock," and "gaping-stock."
Vocabulary lists containing laughingstock
Dawn
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One for the Murphys
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"The Southpaw"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Buffalo Bills were nothing short of a laughingstock when Sean McDermott took over as head coach in 2017.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
And Isaac’s lack of an appropriate neck accessory made him the laughingstock of a dinner party at John Jay’s house the night they were meant to sign the Declaration of Independence.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2025
Lopez quickly became a laughingstock on TikTok following the release of her musical film “This Is Me... Now: A Love Story,” which critics described as “confusing” and straight up ludicrous.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2024
“They were the laughingstock of the industry,” said Michael Dunne, a China auto industry analyst.
From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2024
He looked at the two flaming vehicles and sighed, knowing he’d be a laughingstock for his failure today.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
