yawn
Americanverb (used without object)
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yawns,
present (3rd person singular)
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yawned,
past participle, past
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yawning
present participle
verb (used with object)
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yawns,
present (3rd person singular)
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yawned,
past participle, past
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yawning
present participle
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to say with a yawn.
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Archaic. to open wide, or lay open, as if by yawning.
noun
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yawns
plural
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an act or instance of yawning.
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an opening; open space; chasm.
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Informal. Also something so boring as to make one yawn.
Critics say the new fashions are one big yawn.
verb
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(intr) to open the mouth wide and take in air deeply, often as in involuntary reaction to tiredness, sleepiness, or boredom
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(tr) to express or utter while yawning
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(intr) to be open wide as if threatening to engulf (someone or something)
the mine shaft yawned below
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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yawnsimple
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yawnssimple
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have yawnedperfect
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has yawnedperfect
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am yawningprogressive
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are yawningprogressive
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is yawningprogressive
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have been yawningperfect progressive
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has been yawningperfect progressive
Past
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yawnedsimple
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had yawnedperfect
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was yawningprogressive
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were yawningprogressive
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had been yawningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of yawn
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb yanen, yonen, alteration of yenen, Old English ge(o)nian; akin to Old English gānian, ginan, Old Norse gīna, German gähnen, Latin hiāre “to be wide open, gape,” Greek chaínein “to gape”; cf. hiatus, dehisce ( def. ), chasm
Explanation
The reflex that makes you open your mouth wide, inhale, and then exhale is called a yawn. Even seeing photos of other people's yawns (or reading the word yawn) can make you yawn. We yawn when we're very bored or tired, or when our bodies need an influx of oxygen. Scientists aren't completely in agreement about all the reasons why we yawn, but the "contagious yawn" happens across all human societies and even in non-human animals like chimpanzees and dogs. Things can also yawn in a figurative way, when they're open wide. Yawn comes from gionian in Old English, "open the mouth wide."
Vocabulary lists containing yawn
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:
Weintraub stares blankly, Wiatt stifles a yawn, and I can’t get a clear read on Wirtschafter, though he’s not screaming hallelujah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
While the initial reaction in the stock market was a collective yawn, a five-year lookback shows that long-term investors have been treated very well by the company’s board of directors.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026
Yet despite all that’s at stake, the tournament has generated little more than a collective yawn among fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025
A cricket war that's now just a big yawn, headlined India Today magazine.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2025
He uses phrases like “mutual respect” and “exemplary manners,” while people slump in their seats and yawn, waiting for practical information like grading or homework policies.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
The oohs and aahs over a 100-mph pitch have been replaced by yawns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2026
“Today’s market yawns at the risk only because Iran talks tough, but hasn’t pulled the trigger, ever,” Raj said.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
This account reposts tons of cute videos—of snuggles, leaps, yawns, and naps.
From Slate ● Dec. 28, 2024
Their working relationship informs their riveting performances, but the consideration each has for their vampire’s lot translates into a palpable yearning, or the type of regret that yawns with an unhinged jaw.
From Salon ● May 26, 2024
But then sometime around eleven, Abby yawns and stretches.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
The world watched dumbstruck as the historic event was broadcast live, but Wall Street yawned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Undercover Boss” premiered during the Great Recession, when the wage gap had yawned into a canyon.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2026
The C-130’s cargo doors yawned open, letting in a rush of sea air before Gaza came into view.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025
Pimblett, who yawned after sitting down, looked disinterested for the majority of the news conference before being sparked into life by Ferguson.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2023
He yawned in response and then watched as Esperanza covered her own mouth.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
In interviews, several of his children described the yawning hole that his death had left in their lives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
Before the advent of yawning, warehouse-sized big-box stores, print catalogs served as portals to the future.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
State police "would help fill the yawning gaps in extant policing framework," Femi Mimiko, a political science professor at Obafemi Awolowo University, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Much of “Choo Choo Revue,” like the yawning, serenading moon, is rooted in the music of the past.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Celaena reentered the bedroom, yawning, and stood on the edge of the mattress to tuck the makeshift weapon into one of the folds of the partial canopy over the bed.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
