laughingstock

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈlæfɪŋˌstɑk/ UK /ˈlɑːfɪŋstɒk/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
an object of general ridicule

His blundered speech made him the laughingstock of the whole office.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an object of general ridicule butt mockery joke target fool

Word family

Related forms laugh laughing stock

Etymology

A compound of laughing (present participle of laugh) and stock in the older sense 'a target or object of attention' (as in mocking-stock, jesting-stock), from Old English stocc 'post, stump'.

hlæhhan Old English stocc Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

# laughingstock

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈlæfɪŋˌstɑk
**IPA (UK):** ˈlɑːfɪŋstɒk

## Meanings
1. an object of general ridicule

## Examples
- His blundered speech made him the laughingstock of the whole office.

## Synonyms
- butt
- mockery
- joke
- target
- fool

## Related Forms
- laugh
- laughing
- stock

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hlæhhan
- Root: stocc

## Etymology
A compound of laughing (present participle of laugh) and stock in the older sense 'a target or object of attention' (as in mocking-stock, jesting-stock), from Old English stocc 'post, stump'.

## AI Etymology
Laughingstock is a compound of laughing (present participle of laugh) and stock in the older sense 'a target or object of attention' (as in mocking-stock, jesting-stock), from Old English stocc 'post, stump'. The etymological trail includes Old English hlæhhan, Old English stocc. The same word family includes laugh, laughing, stock. Its current noun use means "an object of general ridicule".

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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laughingstock

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