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• laurence
  laurence

  noun

  a shimmering effect seen over a hot surface, such as a pavement or roadway, on a clear and calm day, caused by the irregular refraction of light.
• Laurence
  Laurence

  noun

  a male given name, form of Lawrence.

laurence

¹ American  

[lawr-uhns, lor-] / ˈlɔr əns, ˈlɒr- /

noun

1. Physics. a shimmering effect seen over a hot surface, such as a pavement or roadway, on a clear and calm day, caused by the irregular refraction of light.

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Laurence ² American  

[lawr-uhns, lor-] / ˈlɔr əns, ˈlɒr- /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Lawrence.

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Laurence British  

/ ˈlɒrəns /

noun

1. Margaret, full name Jean Margaret Laurence, 1926–87, Canadian novelist and short story writer; her novels include The Stone Angel (1964)

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Etymology

Origin of laurence

First recorded in 1790–1800; origin unknown

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Laurence

With the trail name “Fairhope,” my brother Laurence became the first in our family to complete the Appalachian Trail in 1992, followed by my parents, known as “Annie and the Salesman,” in 1994.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Take the case of Laurence Stallings and Truman Talley’s “The First World War,” released in 1934 by the Fox Film Corp. and described by Variety as “a celluloid anthology of the world’s greatest wholesale slaughter.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The theft also triggered an internal crisis at the Louvre, leading to the replacement of its president Laurence des Cars by Leribault.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

National Counter Terrorism Policing head Laurence Taylor said the new arrest built on "progress made by our colleagues in Devon and Cornwall Police", and that they were working to establish "the motivation for this attack".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

“A loud cry filled the air,” wrote William Laurence of the scene on Compana Hill.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin