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• 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.

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Laurence ² American  

[lawr-uhns, lor-] / ˈlɔr əns, ˈlɒr- /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Lawrence.

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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)

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Etymology

Origin of laurence

First recorded in 1790–1800; origin unknown

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Laurence

Harvard Law’s Laurence Tribe traces the anomaly to a technical error: “a profound fallacy about spectrum scarcity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Bill Plaschke should have consulted with his colleague Laurence Darmiento before writing his ill-informed column on the sale of the Lakers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Joke candidate Count Binface and actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox are among his highest-profile opponents.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

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

What if Laurence put the animal carrier on the top of his car while he unlocked the door, and then he forgot it was up there and he drove away?

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