yawn

[ yawn ]
/ yɔn /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR yawn ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

to say with a yawn.
Archaic. to open wide, or lay open, as if by yawning.

noun

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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, chasm

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH yawn

yawn , yon.

Words nearby yawn

Yawata, yawey, yawl, yawl-rigged, yawmeter, yawn, yawner, yawnful, yawning, yawnsome, yawny
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to yawn

gape, give, yaw, doze, yawp, spread, nap, part, sleep, snooze, gap, expand, divide, drowse

Example sentences from the Web for yawn

British Dictionary definitions for yawn

yawn
/ (jɔːn) /

verb

(intr) to open the mouth wide and take in air deeply, often as in involuntary reaction to tiredness, sleepiness, or boredom
(tr) to express or utter while yawning
(intr) to be open wide as if threatening to engulf (someone or something)the mine shaft yawned below

noun

the act or an instance of yawning

Derived forms of yawn

yawner, nounyawning, adjectiveyawningly, adverb

Word Origin for yawn

Old English gionian; related to Old Saxon ginōn, Old High German ginēn to yawn, Old Norse gjā gap
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for yawn

yawn
[ yôn ]

v.

To open the mouth wide with a deep inhalation, usually involuntarily from drowsiness, fatigue, or boredom.

n.

The act of yawning.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.