Jump To:

• laurence
  laurence

  noun

  a shimmering effect seen over a hot surface, such as a pavement or roadway, on a clear and calm day, caused by the irregular refraction of light.
• Laurence
  Laurence

  noun

  a male given name, form of Lawrence.

laurence

¹ American  

[lawr-uhns, lor-] / ˈlɔr əns, ˈlɒr- /

noun

1. Physics. a shimmering effect seen over a hot surface, such as a pavement or roadway, on a clear and calm day, caused by the irregular refraction of light.

---

Laurence ² American  

[lawr-uhns, lor-] / ˈlɔr əns, ˈlɒr- /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Lawrence.

---

Laurence British  

/ ˈlɒrəns /

noun

1. Margaret, full name Jean Margaret Laurence, 1926–87, Canadian novelist and short story writer; her novels include The Stone Angel (1964)

---

Etymology

Origin of laurence

First recorded in 1790–1800; origin unknown

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Laurence

The head of UK counter-terrorism policing, Laurence Taylor, said in a statement that "we are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack".

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Other candidates include the actor and political activist Laurence Fox and some local residents.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

It’s hard to see anyone but the most rabid Wings fan interested in, say, guitarist Laurence Juber’s amp or similar artifacts from the horn section, but on the other hand, this is a Wings retrospective.

From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026

Laurence Darmiento and Shelby Grad contributed to this report.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026

If his parents weren’t divorced, Thor wouldn’t be spending the weekend with Laurence.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold