yawn
verb (used without object)
to open the mouth somewhat involuntarily with a prolonged, deep inhalation and sighing or heavy exhalation, as from drowsiness or boredom.
have yawned
-
present perfectof yawn.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
Newspapers have felt it for decades, part of a system whose fractures have yawned into complete breaks.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2025
Jokic, a perma-placid glaze resting on his face, could not have yawned out a duller answer about the MVP race if he tried.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2023
Some title droughts for host countries have yawned across decades, and here’s the drought ranking of the moment:
From Washington Post ● Jan. 22, 2022
In Stratford-on-Avon, I have guffawed at Bottom’s midsummer-night translation into an ass; in Atlanta, I have yawned over “Julius Caesar’s” Cinna the Poet portrayed as a Vietnam veteran.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2021
They might even have yawned if they only heard you yawn, because yawning is also aurally contagious: if you play an audiotape of a yawn to blind people, they’ll yawn too.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
