yawn
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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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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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:
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
If your mouth opens wide during any of the supposedly terrifying interludes, it’s more likely to form a yawn than a cry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
A cricket war that's now just a big yawn, headlined India Today magazine.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2025
Some of our contagious behaviors are involuntary; for example, if someone yawns in our vicinity, we might find ourselves also trying to suppress a yawn.
From Salon ● Jan. 20, 2025
After a big yawn, he stoops to kiss her on the forehead, and then turns and makes his way across the sand.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
“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
Almost always these machines and the services they supported provoked yawns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
Some of our contagious behaviors are involuntary; for example, if someone yawns in our vicinity, we might find ourselves also trying to suppress a yawn.
From Salon ● Jan. 20, 2025
This account reposts tons of cute videos—of snuggles, leaps, yawns, and naps.
From Slate ● Dec. 28, 2024
The bouncer at the Bear Flag steps out on the porch in his shirtsleeves and stretches and yawns and scratches his stomach.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
But unlike the first unveiling of those targets a year ago, and Oracle’s quarterly report last month that included even more blowout numbers, investors yawned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
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
The dollar-yen pair traditionally tracks the gap between the countries' long-term yields, which has yawned to 380 basis points in the dollar's favour.
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2023
Matthias stretched, yawned and scratched under the collar.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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
“Even if inflation does move considerably toward the target, certain fundamentals that were already underpinning longer term rates remain in place, such as record-level borrowing by the U.S. and yawning budget gaps,” he says.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Those yawning at the contest may be looking for glitz and entertainment.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is planning to propose a tax on New York City’s second homes worth $5 million or more in an effort to fill the city’s yawning budget deficit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
But there was a yawning abyss below us.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
