Adjacent Words

Laugh definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LAUGH, v.i. l'aff. [Heb.]
1. To make the noise and exhibit the features which are characteristic of mirth in the human species. Violent laughter is accompanied with a shaking of the sides, and all laughter expels breath from the lungs.
2. In poetry, to be gay; to appear gay, cheerful, pleasant, lively or brilliant.
Then laughs the childish year with flow'rets crown'd.
And o'er the foaming bowl, the laughing wine.
To laugh at, to ridicule; to treat with some degree of contempt.
No fool to laugh at, which he valued more.
To laugh to scorn, to deride; to treat with mockery, contempt and scorn. Nehemiah 2.
LAUGH, n. l'aff. An expression of mirth peculiar to the human species.
But feigns a laugh, to see me search around, and by that laugh the willing fair is found.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the sound of laughing [syn: laugh, laughter]
2: a facial expression characteristic of a person laughing; "his face wrinkled in a silent laugh of derision"
3: a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter; "he told a very funny joke"; "he knows a million gags"; "thanks for the laugh"; "he laughed unpleasantly at his own jest"; "even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point" [syn: joke, gag, laugh, jest, jape] v
1: produce laughter [syn: laugh, express joy, express mirth] [ant: cry, weep]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hliehhan; akin to Old High German lach?n to laugh Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. a. to show emotion (as mirth, joy, or scorn) with a chuckle or explosive vocal sound b. to find amusement or pleasure in something <laughed at his own clumsiness> c. to become amused or derisive <a very skeptical public laughed at our early efforts — Graenum Berger> 2. a. to produce the sound or appearance of laughter <a laughing brook> b. to be of a kind that inspires joy transitive verb 1. to influence or move by laughter <laughed the bad singer off the stage> 2. to utter with a laugh • laughingly adverb II. noun Date: 1690 1. the act of laughing 2. a. a cause for derision or merriment ; joke b. an expression of scorn or mockery ; jeer 3. plural diversion, sport <play baseball just for laughs>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. make the spontaneous sounds and movements usual in expressing lively amusement, scorn, derision, etc. 2 tr. express by laughing. 3 tr. bring (a person) into a certain state by laughing (laughed them into agreeing). 4 intr. (foll. by at) ridicule, make fun of (laughed at us for going). 5 intr. (be laughing) colloq. be in a fortunate or successful position. 6 intr. esp. poet. make sounds reminiscent of laughing. --n. 1 the sound or act or manner of laughing. 2 colloq. a comical or ridiculous thing. Phrases and idioms: have the last laugh be ultimately the winner. laugh in a person's face show open scorn for a person. laugh off get rid of (embarrassment or humiliation) with a jest. laugh on the other side of one's face change from enjoyment or amusement to displeasure, shame, apprehension, etc. laugh out of court deprive of a hearing by ridicule. laugh up one's sleeve be secretly or inwardly amused. Derivatives: laugher n. Etymology: OE hlæhhan, hliehhan f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Laugh Laugh, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Laughed; p. pr. & vb. n. Laughing.] [OE. laughen, laghen, lauhen, AS. hlehhan, hlihhan, hlyhhan, hliehhan; akin to OS. hlahan, D. & G. lachen, OHG. hlahhan, lahhan, lahh?n, Icel. hl[ae]ja. Dan. lee, Sw. le, Goth. hlahjan; perh. of imitative origin.] 1. To show mirth, satisfaction, or derision, by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face, particularly of the mouth, causing a lighting up of the face and eyes, and usually accompanied by the emission of explosive or chuckling sounds from the chest and throat; to indulge in laughter. Queen Hecuba laughed that her eyes ran o'er. --Shak. He laugheth that winneth. --Heywood's Prov. 2. Fig.: To be or appear gay, cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport. Then laughs the childish year, with flowerets crowned. --Dryden. In Folly's cup still laughs the bubble Joy. --Pope. To laugh at, to make an object of laughter or ridicule; to make fun of; to deride. No wit to flatter left of all his store, No fool to laugh at, which he valued more. --Pope. To laugh in the sleeve

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Laugh Laugh, v. t. 1. To affect or influence by means of laughter or ridicule. Will you laugh me asleep, for I am very heavy? --Shak. I shall laugh myself to death. --Shak. 2. To express by, or utter with, laughter; -- with out. From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause. --Shak. To laugh away. (a) To drive away by laughter; as, to laugh away regret. (b) To waste in hilarity. ``Pompey doth this day laugh away his fortune.'' --Shak. To laugh down. (a) To cause to cease or desist by laughter; as, to laugh down a speaker. (b) To cause to be given up on account of ridicule; as, to laugh down a reform. To laugh one out of, to cause one by laughter or ridicule to abandon or give up; as, to laugh one out of a plan or purpose. To laugh to scorn, to deride; to treat with mockery, contempt, and scorn; to despise.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Laugh Laugh, n. An expression of mirth peculiar to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter. See Laugh, v. i. And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind. --Goldsmith. That man is a bad man who has not within him the power of a hearty laugh. --F. W. Robertson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sardonic Sar*don"ic, a. [F. sardonique, L. sardonius, Gr. ?, ?, perhaps fr. ? to grin like a dog, or from a certain plant of Sardinia, Gr. ?, which was said to screw up the face of the eater.] Forced; unnatural; insincere; hence, derisive, mocking, malignant, or bitterly sarcastic; -- applied only to a laugh, smile, or some facial semblance of gayety. Where strained, sardonic smiles are glozing still, And grief is forced to laugh against her will. --Sir H. Wotton. The scornful, ferocious, sardonic grin of a bloody ruffian. --Burke. Sardonic grin or laugh, an old medical term for a spasmodic affection of the muscles of the face, giving it an appearance of laughter.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(laughs, laughing, laughed) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. When you laugh, you make a sound with your throat while smiling and show that you are happy or amused. People also sometimes laugh when they feel nervous or are being unfriendly. He was about to offer an explanation, but she was beginning to laugh... He laughed with pleasure when people said he looked like his dad... The British don't laugh at the same jokes as the French... 'I'll be astonished if I win on Sunday,' laughed Lyle. VERB: V, V with n, V at n, V with quote • Laugh is also a noun. Lysenko gave a deep rumbling laugh at his own joke. N-COUNT 2. If people laugh at someone or something, they mock them or make jokes about them. I thought they were laughing at me because I was ugly... VERB: V at n 3. If you do something for a laugh or for laughs, you do it as a joke or for fun. They were persuaded onstage for a laugh by their mates... It's a project she's doing for laughs. PHRASE: PHR with v 4. If a person or their comment gets a laugh or raises a laugh, they make the people listening to them laugh. (mainly BRIT) The joke got a big laugh, which encouraged me to continue. PHRASE: V inflects 5. If you describe a situation as a laugh, a good laugh, or a bit of a laugh, you think that it is fun and do not take it too seriously. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL) Working there's great. It's quite a good laugh actually... PHRASE: v-link PHR 6. If you describe someone as a laugh or a good laugh, you like them because they are amusing and fun to be with. (mainly BRIT) Mickey was a good laugh and great to have in the dressing room. PHRASE: v-link PHR 7. If you say that you have the last laugh, you mean that you become successful at something so that people who criticize or oppose you look foolish. Des O'Connor is expecting to have the last laugh on his critics by soaring to the top of the Christmas hit parade. PHRASE: V inflects 8. to laugh your head off: see head no laughing matter: see matter

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Laughter, cachinnation. II. v. n. Cachinnate.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To laugh on the wrong side of the mouth; to cry. I'll make him laugh on the wrong (or t'other) side of his mouth.

Foolish Dictionary

A peculiar contortion of the human countenance, voluntary or involuntary, super-induced by a concatenation of external circumstances, seen or heard, of a ridiculous, ludicrous, jocose, mirthful, funny, facetious or fanciful nature and accompanied by a cackle, chuckle, chortle, cachinnation, giggle, gurgle, guffaw or roar.

Moby Thesaurus

Homeric laughter, be in heaven, be in stitches, be pleased, beam, belittle, belly laugh, blue story, boff, boffola, break up, brush aside, burst into laughter, burst of laughter, burst out, burst out laughing, burst with laughter, bust a gut, cachinnate, cachinnation, cackle, caper, caracole, chirp, chirrup, chortle, chuckle, convulsion, crack up, crow, dance, delight, deny, deride, die with delight, dirty joke, dirty story, dismiss, disregard, double entendre, ethnic joke, feel happy, fit of laughter, frolic, fun, funny story, gag, gales of laughter, gambol, giggle, glow, go into convulsions, go into hysterics, go into raptures, good one, good story, grin, guffaw, ha-ha, hearty laugh, hee-haw, hee-hee, hilarity, ho-ho, hoot, horselaugh, howler, ignore, jape, jeer at, jest, jestbook, joke, joy, lampoon, laugh at, laugh it up, laugh outright, laughing, laughter, lilt, minimize, nearly die laughing, outburst of laughter, panic, parody, pasquil, pasquinade, peal of laughter, play, point, poke fun at, pooh-pooh, purr, radiate cheer, reject, rib tickler, ridicule, riot, risibility, roar, roar of laughter, roar with laughter, roast, romp, satirize, scoff at, scorn, scream, shake like jelly, shake with laughter, shout, shout of laughter, shriek, shrug off, sick joke, sidesplitter, sight gag, simper, sing, skip, smile, smirk, snicker, snigger, sniggle, snort, sparkle, split, split with laughter, sport, spurn, story, take great satisfaction, taunt, tease, tee-hee, titter, tread on air, visual joke, wheeze, whistle, whoop, wide berth, wow, yarn, yuck, yuk-yuk