DictionaryAI

haha

Sayhah-HAHUS/ˌhɑˈhɑ/UK/ˌhɑːˈhɑː/

Verbhahas, hahaing, hahaed

Noun pluralhahas

4 meanings of haha

Practice

  1. 1
    sound of laughterinterjection
    Used to imitate the sound of laughter, in writing or in speech.

    Haha, I can't believe you fell for that again.

    "Haha, very funny," he said, rolling his eyes at the prank.

    UsageSaid flatly, as in haha, very funny, it can show you are not amused at all.

    Similarhehe, lol

  2. 2
    laughverbintransitive
    To laugh, making the sound of laughter.

    He would haha loudly at his own jokes before anyone else had a chance to.

    She haha'd politely at the boss's story and went back to her desk.

    UsagePast forms vary, haha'd or hahaed; choose one spelling and keep to it.

    Similarlaugh, chuckle

  3. 3
    hidden ditchnouncountable
    A boundary to a garden, park, or pleasure ground, typically a sunken ditch, built so that it does not block the view and stays hidden until approached closely.

    A haha at the foot of the lawn kept the deer out of the garden without spoiling the view across the park.

    The new owners dug hahas along the south side of the estate so that no fence would break the line of the hills.

    Note

    The name is French, and the usual explanation is a cry of surprise, ha ha or ah ah, from someone who stumbles on the hidden drop, so it is only a cousin of the written laugh. It was still new when Richard Bradley called it a new-coined word for a fossee, a ditch enclosing a garden. English writes it haha or ha-ha, as in Trollope's ha-ha fence.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The garden-boundary term was borrowed from French. en.wiktionary.org
    • The usual explanation derives the name from an exclamation of surprise on encountering the concealed boundary. en.wikipedia.org
    • Richard Bradley described haha as a newly coined synonym of fossee, meaning a ditch enclosing a garden. en.wiktionary.org
    • Anthony Trollope used the expression ha-ha fence in his narration. gutenberg.org

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    noun
    Any of various Hawaiian shrubs or small trees of the genus Cyanea, in the bellflower family, many of them now rare.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–2

From Middle English haha, ha ha, from Old English ha ha, an interjection that ultimately imitates the sound of laughter. Compare Old Frisian haha, Middle Low German hahā and hahahā, and Middle High German hahā and haha, all expressions of joy or laughter.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  • The laughter interjection descends through Middle English haha and ha ha from Old English ha ha and is ultimately imitative. en.wiktionary.org
  • Comparable expressions of joy or laughter occur as Old Frisian haha, Middle Low German hahā and hahahā, and Middle High German hahā and haha. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 3

Borrowed from French haha, recorded in 1686 in a place name in New France, Isle du Haha in Acadia; compare modern Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! in Quebec. The usual explanation is that people exclaim "ha ha" or "ah! ah!" in surprise on coming upon such a boundary, a reaction traditionally attributed in France to Louis, the Grand Dauphin, in the gardens of the Château de Meudon. The English word is first recorded in 1712, in John James's translation of Dezallier d'Argenville's La theorie et la pratique du jardinage (1709).

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 9 facts

  • The boundary noun was borrowed from French haha. en.wiktionary.org
  • The cited 1686 attestation is Isle du Haha in Acadia. New France cannot here be equated with present-day Quebec. toponymie.gouv.qc.ca
  • Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is a modern comparison: the parish began in 1860 and was named in 1874. en.wikipedia.org
  • The usual explanation connects the name with an exclamation of surprise on encountering the boundary. en.wikipedia.org
  • French tradition attributes the reaction to Louis, the Grand Dauphin, at the Château de Meudon. en.wiktionary.org
  • The English boundary noun is first recorded in 1712. en.wiktionary.org
  • John James translated the French gardening work into English. archive.org
  • Dezallier d'Argenville wrote La theorie et la pratique du jardinage. openlibrary.org
  • The French work was first published in 1709. archive.org