# laugh

Pronunciation: US say "LAF" /læf/; UK say "LAHF" /lɑːf/

## Verb

1. To express amusement, satisfaction, or scorn through movement of the face and explosive or chuckling sounds from the chest and throat.
   - Simple: To smile and make happy sounds because something is funny or pleasing.
   - _Children laugh easily at the smallest surprises._
   - _The audience laughed for a full minute after the punchline._
3. To make someone or something a target of ridicule; to deride or mock.
   - Simple: To make fun of someone in an unkind or mocking way.
   - _Critics laughed at the proposal the moment it was unveiled._
   - _They laugh at anyone who dares to dream big._
5. To express or utter something through laughter.
   - Simple: To say or show something while laughing.
   - _They laugh their approval whenever the comedian pauses._
   - _She laughed a bitter answer and left the room._
6. To influence or move someone by means of laughter or ridicule.
   - Simple: To change what someone does by laughing at them.
   - _They laugh anyone who disagrees right out of the room._
   - _The committee laughed the proposal out of court._

## Noun

2. An expression of amusement or mirth; the sound a person makes while laughing.
   - Simple: The happy sound a person makes when something is funny.
   - _A nervous laugh escaped him before he could answer._
   - _I would know that booming laugh anywhere._
4. Something that provokes amusement or scorn.
   - Simple: A thing or person that makes people laugh or that people make fun of.
   - _The cheap special effects made the movie a laugh from start to finish._
   - _Their so-called security system was a laugh to anyone who looked closely._
7. A person regarded as entertaining and good company. *(British, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A person who is fun and enjoyable to be around.
   - _Everyone says the new lad's a proper laugh._
   - _He's a good laugh, the sort who keeps the whole table going._

## Verb

8. To appear cheerful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To look bright, happy, and full of life.
   - _The meadows laughed with wildflowers beneath the May sky._
   - _Sunlight made the river laugh as it danced over the stones._

## Origin

From Middle English laughen, from Old English hliehhan (with dialect forms hlæhhan, hlehhan), going back to Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną. It is related to German and Dutch lachen and Icelandic hlæja, and possibly to words meaning 'to cluck' or 'cackle' in other languages, such as Latin glōcīre.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/laugh (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).