laugh

[laf, lahf]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR laugh ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to express mirth, pleasure, derision, or nervousness with an audible, vocal expulsion of air from the lungs that can range from a loud burst of sound to a series of quiet chuckles and is usually accompanied by characteristic facial and bodily movements.

to experience the emotion so expressed: He laughed inwardly at the scene.

to produce a sound resembling human laughter: A coyote laughed in the dark.

verb (used with object)

to drive, put, bring, etc., by or with laughter (often followed by out, away, down, etc.): They laughed him out of town. We laughed away our troubles.

to utter with laughter: He laughed his consent.

noun

the act or sound of laughing; laughter.

an expression of mirth, derision, etc., by laughing.

Informal. something that provokes laughter, amusement, or ridicule: After all the advance publicity, the prizefight turned out to be a laugh.

laughs, Informal. fun; amusement.

Verb Phrases

laugh at,

to make fun of; deride; ridicule: They were laughing at him, not along with him.
to be scornful of; reject: They stopped laughing at the unusual theory when it was found to be predictive.
to find sympathetic amusement in; regard with humor: We can learn to laugh a little at even our most serious foibles.

laugh off, to dismiss as ridiculous, trivial, or hollow: He had received threats but laughed them off as the work of a crank.

Nearby words

Idioms

have the last laugh, to prove ultimately successful after a seeming defeat or loss: She smiled slyly, because she knew she would yet have the last laugh on them.

laugh it up, to laugh or joke in a hearty way: He was laughing it up with his friends.

laugh out of court, to dismiss or depreciate by means of ridicule; totally scorn: His violent protests were laughed out of court by the others.

laugh out of the other side of one's mouth, to undergo a chastening reversal, as of glee or satisfaction that is premature; be ultimately chagrined, punished, etc.; cry: She's proud of her promotion, but she'll laugh out of the other side of her mouth when the work piles up.Also laugh on the wrong side of one's mouth/face.

laugh up one's sleeve. sleeve(def 7).

Origin of laugh

before 900; Middle English laughen, Old English hlæh(h)an (Anglian); cognate with Dutch, German lachen, Old Norse hlǣja, Gothic hlahjan

SYNONYMS FOR laugh

1. chortle, cackle, cachinnate, guffaw, roar; giggle, snicker, snigger, titter. 6. Laugh, chuckle, grin, smile refer to methods of expressing mirth, appreciation of humor, etc. A laugh may be a sudden, voiceless exhalation, but is usually an audible sound, either soft or loud: a hearty laugh. Chuckle suggests a barely audible series of sounds expressing private amusement or satisfaction: a delighted chuckle. A smile is a (usually pleasant) lighting up of the face and an upward curving of the corners of the lips (which may or may not be open); it may express amusement or mere recognition, friendliness, etc.: a courteous smile. A grin, in which the teeth are usually visible, is like an exaggerated smile, less controlled in expressing the feelings: a friendly grin.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR laugh ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsout·laugh, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for laugh

I watch every episode alone on my couch and I just sit there and laugh, and laugh.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Hopefully, she got as much of a laugh out of it as the rest of the world has.
Slow Motion Tiger Jump, a Tornado at the Rose Bowl and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We love to laugh at Kim and Company because it distracts our souls from the horrific reality of their hermetic regime.
Pyongyang Shuffle: Hollywood In Dead Panic Over Sony Hack|James Poulos|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ramone, who turned to religion while trying to kick drugs, would probably approve (and laugh a little, too).
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

First we laugh, then we begin to wonder why the man was so distracted that he didn't notice he'd taken the doorknob with him.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But we've had our laugh out of it, and that is worth while, isn't it?
Pirates' Hope|Francis Lynde
"Yes, always that," retorted the boy, and Piers Minor burst into a laugh.
The Doomsman|Van Tassel Sutphen
And now he had less of the old high spirits that had enabled him to laugh off the cares of debt.
Goldsmith|William Black
It relieved him to see the two ladies seated opposite each other in the bow window, and to hear something like a laugh in the air.
The Marriage of Elinor|Margaret Oliphant
The two men looked at each other for a long moment, and this time Ascham did not laugh.
The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton, Part 1 (of 10)|Edith Wharton

British Dictionary definitions for laugh

laugh

verb

(intr) to express or manifest emotion, esp mirth or amusement, typically by expelling air from the lungs in short bursts to produce an inarticulate voiced noise, with the mouth open

(intr) (esp of certain mammals or birds) to make a noise resembling a laugh

(tr) to utter or express with laughterhe laughed his derision at the play

(tr) to bring or force (someone, esp oneself) into a certain condition by laughterhe laughed himself sick

(intr foll by at) to make fun (of); jeer (at)

(intr foll by over) to read or discuss something with laughter

don't make me laugh informal I don't believe you for a moment

laugh all the way to the bank informal to be unashamedly pleased at making a lot of money

laugh in a person's face to show open contempt or defiance towards a person

laugh like a drain informal to laugh loudly and coarsely

laugh up one's sleeve to laugh or have grounds for amusement, self-satisfaction, etc, secretly

laugh on the other side of one's face to show sudden disappointment or shame after appearing cheerful or confident

be laughing informal to be in a favourable situation

noun

the act or an instance of laughing

a manner of laughter

informal a person or thing that causes laughterthat holiday was a laugh

the last laugh the final success in an argument, situation, etc, after previous defeat

See also laugh away, laugh down, laugh off

Derived Formslaugher, nounlaughing, noun, adjectivelaughingly, adverb

Word Origin for laugh

Old English læhan, hliehhen; related to Gothic hlahjan, Dutch lachen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for laugh

laugh

late 14c., from Old English (Anglian) hlæhhan, earlier hlihhan, from Proto-Germanic *klakhjanan (cf. Old Norse hlæja, Danish le, Old Frisian hlakkia, Old Saxon hlahhian, Middle Dutch and Dutch lachen, Old High German hlahhan, German lachen, Gothic hlahjan), from PIE *kleg-, of imitative origin (cf. Latin cachinnare "to laugh aloud," Sanskrit kakhati "laughs," Old Church Slavonic chochotati "laugh," Lithuanian klageti "to cackle," Greek kakhazein). Originally with a "hard" -gh- sound, as in Scottish loch; the spelling remained after the pronunciation shifted to "-f."

If I coveted nowe to avenge the injuries that you have done me, I myght laughe in my slyve. [John Daus, "Sleidanes Commentaries," 1560]

Related: Laughed; laughing.

laugh

1680s, from laugh (v.). Meaning "a cause of laughter" is from 1895; ironic use (e.g. that's a laugh) attested from 1930. Laugh track "canned laughter on a TV program" is from 1961.

Idioms and Phrases with laugh

laugh

In addition to the idioms beginning with laugh

laugh all the way to the bank
laugh and the world laughs with you
laugh at
laughing matter
laugh off
laugh one's head off
laugh out of court
laugh out of the other side of one's mouth
laugh up one's sleeve

also see:

canned laughter
die laughing
it's to laugh
last laugh
no joke (laughing matter)
shake with laughter

laugh

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Verb Phrases

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of laugh

Examples from the Web for laugh

laugh

verb

noun

Word Origin for laugh

laugh

laugh

laugh