Definition for: laugh

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- Other Translations

English

Pronunciation

• US: IPA: /læf/ , SAMPA: /l{f/
• British, Australia: SAMPA: /lA:f/

Rhymes: -ɑːf

Etymology

Old English hlæhhan , hlihhan , hliehhan

Intransitive verb

to laugh ( third-person singular simple present laughs , present participle laughing , simple past laughed , past participle laughed )

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.

   Quotations

   • Queen Hecuba laughed that her eyes ran o'er. - Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, I-ii
   • He laugheth that winneth. - Heywood's Prov.

2. ( figurative ) To be or appear gay, cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport.

   Quotations

   • Then laughs the childish year, with flowerets crowned. - Dryden
   • In Folly's cup still laughs the bubble Joy. - Pope

3. To laugh at, to make an object of laughter or ridicule; to make fun of; to deride.

   Quotations

   • No wit to flatter left of all his store, No fool to laugh at, which he valued more. - Pope

Related terms

• To laugh in the sleeve — or to laugh up one's sleeve : to laugh secretly, or so as not to be observed, especially while apparently preserving a grave or serious demeanor toward the person or persons laughed at
• To laugh out : to laugh in spite of some restraining influence; to laugh aloud
• To laugh out of the other corner (or side) of the mouth , (Slang): to weep or cry; to feel regret, vexation, or disappointment after hilarity or exaltation

Translations

Transitive verb

to laugh ( third-person singular simple present laughs , present participle laughing , simple past laughed , past participle laughed )

1. To affect or influence by means of laughter or ridicule.

   Quotations

   • Will you laugh me asleep, for I am very heavy? - Shakespeare, Tempest, II-i
   • I shall laugh myself to death. - Shakespeare, Tempest, II-ii

2. To express by, or utter with, laughter; — with out.

   Quotations

   • From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause. - Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, I-iii

Translations

Related terms

• To laugh away

  To drive away by laughter; as, to laugh away regret

  To waste in hilarity

  Quotations

  • Pompey doth this day laugh away his fortune." Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, II-vi

• To laugh down

  To cause to cease or desist by laughter; as, to laugh down a speaker

  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.

Noun

laugh ( plural laughs )

1. An expression of mirth peculiar to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter. (See the intransitive verb above.)
2. Something that provokes mirth or scorn.

   Quotations

   • 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

Translations

(Translations see at laughter )

Related terms

• laughter
• the last laugh
• laugh track = recorded laughter mixed in with a performance.

Synonyms

• chuckle
• giggle
• guffaw
• titter
• cackle
• chortle
• snigger
• snicker

Other Translations for "laugh"

Braille 6 Dot
Braille 8 Dot
Sign Language Spelling
Morse Code		laugh
Hex		6c e1 f5 e7 e8
Pig Latin		aughlay

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