Showing results for "laughing"

• present participle of laugh.

laughing

American  

[laf-ing, lah-fing] / ˈlæf ɪŋ, ˈlɑ fɪŋ /

adjective

1. that laughs or is given to laughter.

   a laughing child.

2. uttering sounds like human laughter, as some birds.

3. suggesting laughter by brightness, color, sound, etc..

   a laughing stream; laughing flowers.

4. laughable.

   The increase in crime is no laughing matter.

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noun

1. laughter.

Other Word Forms

• unlaughing
  adjective
• laughingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of laughing

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at laugh, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

laughing

"I was devastated when I watched it because there was a whole minute of insults and sarcasm and laughing and this feeling that perhaps it had been written by AI," she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

I scroll through the portraits he’d emailed me: two women laughing, a family smiling, and my personal favorite, a pop-artish rendering of Gigi Hadid.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

“I was born in a stable,” he says, laughing, “like Jesus.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Outside in the streets, the cosplayers enjoyed mugging for the cameras or taking selfies and laughing at themselves and others while interacting with their favorite celebrities.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

He threw his head back and beat on his chest with his paws; then he opened his big mouth and started laughing.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• humorous