laughter
noun
Simple meaning
The sound and action people make when something is funny.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lafterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlæftɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The activity of laughing; the manifestation of joy or mirth or scorn
“He enjoyed the laughter of the crowd.”
The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled; any similar sound.
A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the lips, and of the whole body, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The activity of laughing; the manifestation of joy or mirth or scorn
Used this way, laughter is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He enjoyed the laughter of the crowd.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “laughter of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: laughter of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use laughter
- “He enjoyed the laughter of the crowd.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: activity of laughing
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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.