laughing

American  

[laf-ing, lah-fing] / ˈlæf ɪŋ, ˈlɑ fɪŋ /

adjective

1. that laughs or is given to laughter.

   a laughing child.

2. uttering sounds like human laughter, as some birds.

3. suggesting laughter by brightness, color, sound, etc..

   a laughing stream; laughing flowers.

4. laughable.

   The increase in crime is no laughing matter.

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noun

1. laughter.

Other Word Forms

• laughingly adverb
• unlaughing adjective

Etymology

Origin of laughing

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; laugh, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

And then she would break down laughing and ruin the take and we’d be like, “Sarah, what are you doing? It’s late. We want to go home.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I definitely don’t look like an angel,” the prime minister wrote on Instagram, adding a laughing emoji.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Brent went from telling me ‘Don’t feed that cat’ to designing a custom cat box for him in the guest house,” Quillian says, laughing.

From Los Angeles Times

This sounded so ridiculous coming out of Chip’s mouth that Jonah fell into the grass laughing.

From Literature

They were laughing so hard that they fell over and rolled around on the ground like sea lion pups.

From Literature

Related Words

• humorous