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laugh

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To show mirth, satisfaction, or derision, by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face, particularly of the mouth.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

laf
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

læf

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. intransitive

    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.

  2. intransitivefollowed by "at"

    To make an object of laughter or ridicule; to make fun of; to deride; to mock.

  3. transitive

    To affect or influence by means of laughter or ridicule.

  4. Produce laughter

  5. transitive

    To express by, or utter with, laughter.

noun

  1. An expression of mirth particular to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter.

  2. Something that provokes mirth or scorn.

  3. britishnew zealand

    A fun person.

  4. BritishNew Zealand

    A facial expression characteristic of a person laughing

    “His face wrinkled in a silent laugh of derision.”

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: 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.

Used this way, laugh is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Slightly positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Positive and appreciative
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • express joy , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use laugh

  • “His face wrinkled in a silent laugh of derision.”noun

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • laugh tracknounCompound term

    Prerecorded laughter added to the soundtrack of a radio or television show.

  • laughing gasnounCompound term

    Inhalation anesthetic used as an anesthetic in dentistry and surgery.

  • laughing gullnounCompound term

    Small black-headed European gull.

  • laughing hyenanounCompound term

    African hyena noted for its distinctive howl.

  • laughing jackassnounCompound term

    Australian kingfisher having a loud cackling cry.

  • laughing owlnounCompound term

    Almost extinct owl of New Zealand.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • laughternounRelated term

    The sound of laughing.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: expression of mirth particular to the human species

laughterwheezegag

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.