Adjacent Words

Yawn definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

YAWN, v.i. [G., Gr.]
1. To gape; to oscitate; to have the mouth open involuntarily through drowsiness or dullness.
The lazy, yawning drone.
And while above he spends his breath, the yawning audience nod beneath.
2. To open wide; as, wide yawns the gulf below.
3. To express desire by yawning; as, to yawn for fat livings.
YAWN, n.
1. A gaping; an involuntary opening of the mouth from drowsiness; oscitation.
One person yawning in company will produce a spontaneous yawn in all present.
2. An opening wide.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom; "he could not suppress a yawn"; "the yawning in the audience told him it was time to stop"; "he apologized for his oscitancy" [syn: yawn, yawning, oscitance, oscitancy] v
1: utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired; "The child yawned during the long performance"
2: be wide open; "the deep gaping canyon" [syn: gape, yawn, yaw]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English yenen, yanen, from Old English ginian; akin to Old High German gin?n to yawn, Latin hiare, Greek chainein Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. to open wide ; gape 2. to open the mouth wide and take a deep breath usually as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom transitive verb 1. to utter with a yawn 2. to accomplish with or impel by yawns <his grandchildren yawned him to bed — L. L. King> II. noun Date: 1602 1. gap, cavity 2. an opening of the mouth wide while taking a deep breath often as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or boredom; also a reaction resembling a yawn <a…success at the box office but drew only yawns from critics — Current Biography> 3. bore V <this book is kind of a yawn — Ilene L. Cooper>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. (as a reflex) open the mouth wide and inhale esp. when sleepy or bored. 2 intr. (of a chasm etc.) gape, be wide open. 3 tr. utter or say with a yawn. --n. 1 an act of yawning. 2 colloq. a boring or tedious idea, activity, etc. Derivatives: yawner n. yawningly adv. Etymology: OE ginian, geonian

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Yawn Yawn (y[add]n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Yawned; p. pr. & vb. n. Yawning.] [OE. yanien, [yogh]anien, ganien, gonien, AS. g[=a]nian; akin to ginian to yawn, g[=i]nan to yawn, open wide, G. g["a]hnen to yawn, OHG. gin[=e]n, gein[=o]n, Icel. g[=i]na to yawn, gin the mouth, OSlav. zijati to yawn, L. hiare to gape, yawn; and perhaps to E. begin, cf. Gr. cheia` a hole. [root]47b. Cf. Begin, Gin to begin, Hiatus.] 1. To open the mouth involuntarily through drowsiness, dullness, or fatigue; to gape; to oscitate. ``The lazy, yawning drone.'' --Shak. And while above he spends his breath, The yawning audience nod beneath. --Trumbull. 2. To open wide; to gape, as if to allow the entrance or exit of anything. 't is now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn. --Shak. 3. To open the mouth, or to gape, through surprise or bewilderment. --Shak. 4. To be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express desire by yawning; as, to yawn for fat livings. ``One long, yawning gaze.'' --Landor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Yawn Yawn, n. 1. An involuntary act, excited by drowsiness, etc., consisting of a deep and long inspiration following several successive attempts at inspiration, the mouth, fauces, etc., being wide open. One person yawning in company will produce a spontaneous yawn in all present. --N. Chipman. 2. The act of opening wide, or of gaping. --Addison. 3. A chasm, mouth, or passageway. [R.] Now gape the graves, and trough their yawns let loose Imprisoned spirits. --Marston.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(yawns, yawning, yawned) 1. If you yawn, you open your mouth very wide and breathe in more air than usual, often when you are tired or when you are not interested in something. She yawned, and stretched lazily... VERB: V • Yawn is also a noun. Rosanna stifled a huge yawn. N-COUNT 2. If you describe something such as a book or a film as a yawn, you think it is very boring. (INFORMAL) The debate was a mockery. A big yawn... The concert was a predictable yawn. = bore N-SING: a N 3. A gap or opening that yawns is large and wide, and often frightening. (LITERARY) The gulf between them yawned wider than ever... VERB: V

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. 1. Gape, oscitate. 2. Open wide, gape, threaten to engulf.

Moby Thesaurus

aperture, boredom, broaching, cavity, chasm, check, clearing, cleft, crack, dehisce, dehiscence, disclosure, doldrums, doze, drowse, ennui, fenestra, fistula, fontanel, foramen, gap, gape, gaping, gat, gulf, hang open, hiatus, hole, hollow, inlet, interval, lacuna, laying open, leak, nap, opening, opening up, orifice, oscitancy, oscitate, oscitation, outlet, pandiculation, passageway, pore, slot, snooze, space, split, stoma, the gapes, throwing open, uncorking, unstopping, yaw, yawning