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laugh
[laf]
verb (used without object)
to express mirth, pleasure, derision, or nervousness with an audible, vocal expulsion of air from the lungs that can range from a loud burst of sound to a series of quiet chuckles and is usually accompanied by characteristic facial and bodily movements.
Synonyms: , , , , , , , ,to experience the emotion so expressed.
He laughed inwardly at the scene.
to produce a sound resembling human laughter.
A coyote laughed in the dark.
verb (used with object)
to drive, put, bring, etc., by or with laughter (often followed by out, away, down, etc.).
They laughed him out of town. We laughed away our troubles.
to utter with laughter.
He laughed his consent.
noun
the act or sound of laughing; laughter.
an expression of mirth, derision, etc., by laughing.
Informal.something that provokes laughter, amusement, or ridicule.
After all the advance publicity, the prizefight turned out to be a laugh.
Informal.laughs, fun; amusement.
verb phrase
to make fun of; deride; ridicule.
They were laughing at him, not along with him.
to be scornful of; reject.
They stopped laughing at the unusual theory when it was found to be predictive.
to find sympathetic amusement in; regard with humor.
We can learn to laugh a little at even our most serious foibles.
to dismiss as ridiculous, trivial, or hollow.
He had received threats but laughed them off as the work of a crank.
laugh
/ ɑː /
verb
(intr) to express or manifest emotion, esp mirth or amusement, typically by expelling air from the lungs in short bursts to produce an inarticulate voiced noise, with the mouth open
(intr) (esp of certain mammals or birds) to make a noise resembling a laugh
(tr) to utter or express with laughter
he laughed his derision at the play
(tr) to bring or force (someone, esp oneself) into a certain condition by laughter
he laughed himself sick
to make fun (of); jeer (at)
to read or discuss something with laughter
informalI don't believe you for a moment
informalto be unashamedly pleased at making a lot of money
to show open contempt or defiance towards a person
informalto laugh loudly and coarsely
to laugh or have grounds for amusement, self-satisfaction, etc, secretly
to show sudden disappointment or shame after appearing cheerful or confident
informalto be in a favourable situation
noun
the act or an instance of laughing
a manner of laughter
informala person or thing that causes laughter
that holiday was a laugh
the final success in an argument, situation, etc, after previous defeat
Other 51Թ Forms
- outlaugh verb (used with object)
- ˈܲԲ noun
- ˈܲ noun
- ˈܲԲly adverb
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of laugh1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of laugh1
Idioms and Phrases
have the last laugh, to prove ultimately successful after a seeming defeat or loss.
She smiled slyly, because she knew she would yet have the last laugh on them.
laugh up one's sleeve. sleeve.
laugh it up, to laugh or joke in a hearty way.
He was laughing it up with his friends.
laugh out of the other side of one's mouth, to undergo a chastening reversal, as of glee or satisfaction that is premature; be ultimately chagrined, punished, etc.; cry: Also laugh on the wrong side of one's mouthface.
She's proud of her promotion, but she'll laugh out of the other side of her mouth when the work piles up.
laugh out of court, to dismiss or depreciate by means of ridicule; totally scorn.
His violent protests were laughed out of court by the others.
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
She had a giant smile, a contagious laugh and an attitude like she could get away with anything.
"It's like a bomb hit, and I'm fairly on it," she laughed.
Organisers described it as a "time to reflect, to cry, to laugh and to find comfort in one another - and in his family - as we remember the light Othniel brought to all of our lives".
"Maybe my mind was somewhere else," laughed Lowry when recounting the bizarre incident to BBC Sport.
"I warn you, I might not make a lot of sense right now," she laughs.
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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.
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