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; see origin at laugh, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Gamble’s attorney, David Gespass, had already reminded me that morning that this was not a laughing matter for Gamble, who was facing jail time.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

My husband and I burst out laughing – not at that scene, or the clerk’s impromptu theatrics, but at this injection of delight into an otherwise mundane errand.

From Salon • May 2, 2026

The monarch was also photographed laughing in the Oval Office when Trump reached out and patted his knee.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

I don’t like sitting in the audience laughing at somebody’s name or what they do for a living, or who they with.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

He stopped laughing, and with a few grunts, he started dropping down from the tree.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• humorous