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
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The Hobbit
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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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.
It’s typical of the home-state reporting corps to guffaw when their own governor is touted as a presidential candidate.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2025
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
"If I make you my cornbread, you'll marry me," he declares with a resounding guffaw.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2022
Xenocrates looked at her in utter disbelief, and then suddenly released a guffaw that he tried to stifle but couldn’t.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
