US /ˈlæfɚ/ UK /ˈlɑːfə/
noun Freq #65240

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a person who laughs, especially one with a characteristic or frequent laugh

    She was an easy laugher whose delight spread through the room.

  2. 2
    noun

    informal, chiefly US: a contest or game won by a very large margin

    The final became a laugher after the home team scored six unanswered goals.

  3. 3
    noun

    a variety of domestic pigeon bred for a call that resembles laughter

    The laugher produced a rolling coo unlike the calls of the other pigeon breeds.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a person who laughs,... one who laughs
2 noun · informal, chiefly us: a... blowouteasy victory
3 noun · a variety of domestic... laugher pigeon
Opposites
close contest
Word family

Etymology

From Middle English laugher, formed from laugh + the agent suffix -er. The ordinary sense is simply 'one who laughs.' The sports sense treats an easy victory as laughably one-sided, while the pigeon breed was named for its distinctive laughing or chuckling call.

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