laughter

CEFRB1

/ˈlɑːftə/

noun

Türkçe translations

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In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The sound people make when they find something funny.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the lips, and of the whole body, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted e...

Examples

  • All at once the bride burst into laughter.

  • We roared with laughter.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A reason for merriment.

  2. The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled; any similar sound.

  3. A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the lips, and of the whole body, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs.

More examples

In context

  • Their loud laughter betrayed their presence.

  • There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free to expand his ideas on the periodic visits of cowboys to the town.

  • The act of laughter, which is caused by a sweet contraction of the muscles of the face, and a pleasant agitation of the vocal organs, is not merely, or totally within the jurisdiction of ourselves.

Synonyms

Quick test

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The room filled with blank as the comedian told a hilarious story.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English laughter, laghter, laȝter, from Old English hleahtor (“laughter, jubilation, derision”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahtraz (“laughter”), from Proto-Indo-European *klek-, *kleg- (“to shout”). Cognate with German Gelächter (“laughter, hilarity, merriment”), Danish and Norwegian latter (“laughter”), Icelandic hlátur (“laughter”). More at laugh.