guffaw
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of guffaw
First recorded in 1710–20; perhaps imitative
Explanation
A guffaw is a belly laugh: a laugh that bubbles up with good feeling and plenty of volume. At the end of a stressful day of work, it’s good to have some guffaws with your friends. Guffaw operates just like the word laugh: you can give a guffaw, or you can guffaw. It comes from the Scottish word gawf, which is onomatopoetic, meaning that it’s spelled the way it sounds. Imagine a big happy Scotsman snorting "gawf, gawf, gawf" at the end of a joke, and you’ll know what a guffaw is.
Vocabulary lists containing guffaw
Instead of "Said": Words for Upbeat Banter
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Hobbit
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Beowulf: A New Telling
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
You can never quite relax, because you're always just waiting for the raise of the eyebrow, the suppressed guffaw, the uninvited joke, whatever.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
But even now, the news will occasionally let you get off a chuckle or guffaw, even if it isn’t always from your better nature.
From Slate • Oct. 10, 2025
A full-body guffaw, followed by her pointing at the screen and saying, “I know exactly what he means.”
From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2023
Farther on, standing before “Pay Nothing Until April,” an exceptional 2003 painting that I hadn’t seen before, I let out an involuntary guffaw.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2023
Colonel Korn’s thick, dark jowls inflated unexpectedly with a suppressed guffaw, and it took him a moment to reply.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
