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

Their conversation was in Arabic, and Helen says all she could hear "was them laughing to each other".

From BBC

"I just needed to be on my own. As I shut the door, I could hear those two men laughing."

From BBC

They said, "I’m not staying up for the sexiest man, it’s just that it’s going to happen soon and if it’s John Krasinski and not Glen Powell I’m going to die laughing."

From Salon

“It was so weird,” Aitken said, laughing.

From Los Angeles Times

Seven weeks on, laughing together on a mild autumn day in London’s Battersea Park, they are unrecognisable.

From BBC

Related Words

• humorous