laugh
Americanverb (used without object)
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laughs,
present (3rd person singular)
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laughed,
past participle, past
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laughing
present participle
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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.
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to experience the emotion so expressed.
He laughed inwardly at the scene.
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to produce a sound resembling human laughter.
A coyote laughed in the dark.
verb (used with object)
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laughs,
present (3rd person singular)
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laughed,
past participle, past
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laughing
present participle
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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.
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to utter with laughter.
He laughed his consent.
noun
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laughs
plural
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the act or sound of laughing; laughter.
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an expression of mirth, derision, etc., by laughing.
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Informal. something that provokes laughter, amusement, or ridicule.
After all the advance publicity, the prizefight turned out to be a laugh.
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Informal. laughs, fun; amusement.
verb phrase
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laugh at
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to make fun of; deride; ridicule.
They were laughing at him, not along with him.
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to be scornful of; reject.
They stopped laughing at the unusual theory when it was found to be predictive.
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to find sympathetic amusement in; regard with humor.
We can learn to laugh a little at even our most serious foibles.
-
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laugh off to dismiss as ridiculous, trivial, or hollow.
He had received threats but laughed them off as the work of a crank.
idioms
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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.
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laugh up one's sleeve. sleeve.
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laugh it up, to laugh or joke in a hearty way.
He was laughing it up with his friends.
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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: Also laugh on the wrong side of one's mouthface.
She's proud of her promotion, but she'll laugh out of the other side of her mouth when the work piles up.
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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.
verb
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(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
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(intr) (esp of certain mammals or birds) to make a noise resembling a laugh
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(tr) to utter or express with laughter
he laughed his derision at the play
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(tr) to bring or force (someone, esp oneself) into a certain condition by laughter
he laughed himself sick
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to make fun (of); jeer (at)
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to read or discuss something with laughter
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informal I don't believe you for a moment
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informal to be unashamedly pleased at making a lot of money
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to show open contempt or defiance towards a person
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informal to laugh loudly and coarsely
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to laugh or have grounds for amusement, self-satisfaction, etc, secretly
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to show sudden disappointment or shame after appearing cheerful or confident
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informal to be in a favourable situation
noun
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the act or an instance of laughing
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a manner of laughter
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informal a person or thing that causes laughter
that holiday was a laugh
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the final success in an argument, situation, etc, after previous defeat
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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laughsimple
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laughssimple
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have laughedperfect
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has laughedperfect
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am laughingprogressive
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are laughingprogressive
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is laughingprogressive
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have been laughingperfect progressive
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has been laughingperfect progressive
Past
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laughedsimple
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had laughedperfect
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was laughingprogressive
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were laughingprogressive
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had been laughingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of laugh
First recorded before 900; Middle English laughen, Old English hlæh(h)an (Anglian); cognate with Dutch, German lachen, Old Norse hlǣja, Gothic hlahjan
Explanation
To let out a chuckle or giggle is to laugh: people laugh when something is funny. To chortle, cackle, guffaw, or titter is to laugh. The job of a comedian is to make people laugh. Often people laugh at things that aren't supposed to be funny, and people also laugh to be polite. If something is silly, you can say "That's a laugh!" If you had fun at a party, you can say "Thanks for the laughs." Everybody's laugh sounds a little different. It would be a shame if your laugh sounded like Elmer Fudd.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Says Berg of the pal with whom he’s worked on and off for four decades: “Bruce is a laugh machine. Great practical joker.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
They did their best to laugh off a typo on the T-shirts fans received that proclaimed the team as the 2026-2027 champions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
Yet, when discussing the upcoming sequel on CBS on Tuesday, Baron Cohen's "primary objective" appeared less ideological - to "get people to laugh really hard".
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
“No sé,” she says with a little laugh, gracious even in disagreement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
I can’t help but laugh at the picture in my head of a young Ford getting smacked on his butt by a mean old lady.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
The show was a huge hit first time around, known for its big laughs and big heart, tackling topics such as sexuality, race, disability and mental health.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
The lyric soprano Katarzyna Wietrzny sings her in an arch scene played for laughs where something more grotesque seems called for.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
When pushed by the BBC on whether she thought she had met "the one", she laughs and becomes understandably guarded.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Parvesh Cheena, the designated “man” in this company of “wives,” plays to the audience a bit too vociferously for laughs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
She had one of the best laughs in the world.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
When asked what he likes to do when he’s just chilling, Kessler laughed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
He laughed and quickly turned back to his work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Botterill laughed: "I almost cried big girl tears... I'm going to get it tattooed across my chest!"
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
No, we can thank everyone who, during the course of his 38 years on this earth, politely laughed at one of Gillis’ “Cornell 7‘s Big Book of Punchlines” zingers.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026
The way Papa was laughing and making a joke out of everything, I didn’t think it would hurt if I laughed a little, too.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
“We’ve got to get a limiter or something,” he added, laughing, before imagining the visitors who will surely request that the volume be turned down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
As the Milwaukee Brewers celebrated their first pennant in 44 years on Thursday night after taking down baseball’s richest franchise, nobody on the Dinosaur Dodgers was laughing anymore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
I personally regret every time I put wind in the sails of a deeply unfunny and offensive man by politely laughing, feeling too awkward to course-correct the moment.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026
If people are laughing, they’re also agreeing, listening, emoting, caring; it’s my favorite thing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
I burst out laughing, and her face falls.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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