laughing

[ laf-ing, lah-fing ]

adjective

1. that laughs or is given to laughter:

   a laughing child.

2. uttering sounds like human laughter, as some birds.
3. suggesting laughter by brightness, color, sound, etc.:

   a laughing stream; laughing flowers.

4. laughable:

   The increase in crime is no laughing matter.

noun

1. laughter.

Other Words From

• laughing·ly adverb
• un·laughing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of laughing¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; laugh, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

“When these jokes are being made by non-disabled strangers with a punchline of not being able to walk, it very much feels like laughing at rather than laughing with,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

Boy Willie comes storming into Pittsburgh, smiling and laughing but on a mission: to sell that family piano so he can buy his own land back in Mississippi.

From Los Angeles Times

“We sat down to eat and we were talking and laughing,” she said.

From BBC

I just saw it with an audience for the first time, and everyone was laughing and it was so exciting.

From Salon

"I could hear my friend Joe laughing, and I sort of forgot I was on the Pyramid Stage," he recalls.

From BBC

Related Words

• humorous