canned laughter

Idioms  

1. Also, canned music. Prerecorded sound effects that can be played repeatedly, as in That canned laughter doesn't make his jokes any funnier, or Canned music is greatly reducing the number of musical jobs available. O. Henry had the term in his story, Cabbages and Kings (1903): “We'll export canned music to the Latins.” Canned laughter today is often used in broadcasting to simulate the reaction of a nonexistent live audience. [c. 1900]

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Example Sentences

Leanne says kindly, earning a few gales of canned laughter.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2025

"All the footage was covered in Japanese graphics, it's got Japanese narration, canned laughter, sound effects, it's a cacophony of noise and graphics," she explains.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2024

The supplied courtroom chuckling, a sort of dramatic canned laughter that accompanies Madeline's courtroom quips only goes so far.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2019

A test episode screened last week for reporters had no studio audience and no canned laughter.

From New York Times • Apr. 12, 2018

It was pretty quiet except for a sudden burst of canned laughter from the neighbor’s TV and the occasional buzzing from an annoying mosquito.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas