laugh

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To make sounds and movements of the face that show you are happy or think something is funny.

   The children laughed at the clown's silly tricks.

2. 2
   noun

   The act or sound of laughing.

   She gave a loud laugh at his joke.

3. 3
   verb

   To make fun of someone or something in an unkind way.

   Don't laugh at him for making a mistake.

4. 4
   noun

   A person or thing that is fun and enjoyable.

   Come along to the party; it'll be a good laugh.

Common collocations

• loud laugh Adjective + noun
• good laugh Adjective + noun
• get a laugh Verb + noun
• have a laugh Verb + noun
• hearty laugh Adjective + noun
• nervous laugh Adjective + noun
• force a laugh Verb + noun
• appreciative laugh Adjective + noun
• laugh loudly Verb + adverb
• laugh softly Verb + adverb

From Middle English laughen, laghen, from (Anglian) Old English hlæhhan, hlehhan, (West Saxon) hliehhan, from Proto-West Germanic *hlahhjan, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną. Cognates Germanic: Scots lauch (“to laugh”), Yola leeigh, leigh (“to laugh”), North Frisian laache, lachi, laake, loache, lååke (“to laugh”), Saterland Frisian laachje (“to laugh”), West Frisian laitsje (“to laugh”), Alemannic German lache (“to laugh”), Cimbrian lachan (“to laugh”), Dutch, German, and Low German lachen (“to laugh”), Luxembourgish laachen (“to laugh”), Yiddish לאַכן (lakhn, “to laugh”), Danish, Norwegian Bokm…

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images