DictionaryAI

humor

HYOO-mer/ˈhjuːmɚ/UKHYOO-muh/hjuː.mə(ɹ)/

Verbhumors, humoring, humored

UK spellinghumour

6 meanings of humor

Practice

  1. 1
    being funnynoununcountable
    The quality that makes something funny and makes people laugh.

    The movie has a lot of humor, so kids and parents both enjoy it.

    Our teacher uses humor to help nervous students relax.

    Similarcomedy, wit, funniness, levity

    Oppositeseriousness, gravity

    Note
  2. 2
    go alongverbtransitive
    To go along with what someone wants so that they stay calm or happy.

    Just humor me and try one bite.

    She humored her little brother by playing his game one more time.

    Similarindulge, placate, appease, mollify, pacify

    Note
  3. 3
    moodnoununcountable
    A mood, often a bad one, or a sudden wish to do something for no clear reason.

    Grandpa was in a bad humor after losing his glasses.

    She was in such a good humor that she bought everyone lunch.

    Similarmood, temper, fancy, whim

    Note
  4. 4
    eye fluidnoununcountable
    Either of the two kinds of liquid that fill the inside of the eyeball.

    The doctor took a tiny sample of the humor inside her eye.

    Pressure builds up when the humor at the front of the eye cannot drain.

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    body fluidnounarchaichistoricaluncountable
    Any liquid in an animal's body, especially four that people once believed controlled health and mood.

    Long ago, doctors thought too much of one humor could make you sick.

    For some days a fistula lacrymalis had come into my left eye, which discharged an humour, when pressed, that portended danger.
    1763, Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz, History of Louisisana (PG)Here, humour means a body fluid.
    Note
  2. 6
    moisturenounobsoleteuncountable
    Wetness, or damp vapor like mist.

    A cold humor rose from the river at night.

    The old cellar walls were wet with humor.

    Note

Practice

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Origin

From Latin hūmor, meaning “liquid”. In old medicine, body fluids were thought to control mood, so the word came to mean “mood” and later “wit”.