humour

American  

[hyoo-mer] / ˈhyu mər /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. humor.

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humour British  

/ ˈhjuːmə /

noun

1. the quality of being funny

2. Also called: sense of humour.  the ability to appreciate or express that which is humorous

3. situations, speech, or writings that are thought to be humorous

4. 1. a state of mind; temper; mood

   2. ( in combination )

      ill humour

      good humour

5. temperament or disposition

6. a caprice or whim

7. any of various fluids in the body, esp the aqueous humour and vitreous humour

8. Also called: cardinal humour.  archaic any of the four bodily fluids (blood, phlegm, choler or yellow bile, melancholy or black bile) formerly thought to determine emotional and physical disposition

9. in a bad mood

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verb

1. to attempt to gratify; indulge

   he humoured the boy's whims

2. to adapt oneself to

   to humour someone's fantasies

Spelling

See -or ¹.

Other Word Forms

• humourful adjective
• humourless adjective
• humourlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of humour

C14: from Latin humor liquid; related to Latin ūmēre to be wet, Old Norse vökr moist, Greek hugros wet

Example Sentences

"Pasha obviously has used humour as a way of coping with what was happening around him," Borenstein told me.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

"And of course, humour has always been a huge part of living under the daily realities of authoritarianism. Soviet jokes are some of the best jokes. It's just how people cope."

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

For Palestinians living in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, responses to the relentless air raid sirens have tilted towards dark humour.

From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026

"He'd been signing cartoon Seuss for a while - he had done it even when he was at Dartmouth working for the humour magazine there," Jones explains.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

He was a lad of less than twenty summers, with a fine noble face and a sense of humour.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White