Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Museum director Lasse Andersson said that he had laughed out loud when he first saw the two blank canvasses in 2021, and decided to show the works anyway.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2023
Years ago, when I told him I was pregnant with her, he had laughed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2023
Milan director Paolo Maldini had laughed off suggestions midweek that Pioli’s job could be on the line, just eight months after leading the team to its first Serie A title in 11 years.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2023
Mr. Hapsburg said that he had pretended not to know the joke and had laughed.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2021
But at the time Gogol was too young to understand; when the bathroom door opened he had laughed at the sight of his hairless, grief-stricken father, and Sonia, just a baby, had cried.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
