I. laugh 1 S2 W2 /lɑːf $ læf/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ laugh , ↑ laughter ; adverb : ↑ laughably , ↑ laughingly ; verb : ↑ laugh ; adjective : ↑ laughable ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hliehhan ]
1 . [intransitive] to make sounds with your voice, usually while you are smiling, because you think something is funny:
Maria looked at him and laughed.
laugh at/about
‘I didn’t know what I was doing,’ she said, laughing at the memory.
Tony was laughing so hard he had to steady himself on the table.
Nora laughed so much that she nearly cried.
laugh heartily/uproariously/hysterically etc (=laugh a lot)
The kids tumbled around on the floor, laughing hysterically.
He couldn’t help it; he burst out laughing (=suddenly started laughing) .
laugh your head off
He’s one of the few writers who can make me laugh out loud.
2 . [transitive] to say something in a voice that shows you are amused:
‘You look ridiculous!’ Nick laughed.
3 . not know whether to laugh or cry to feel upset or annoyed about something bad that has happened, but also able to see that there is something funny about it:
And when I couldn’t find the passports – honestly, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!
4 . don’t make me laugh spoken used when someone has just told you something that is completely untrue, asked for something impossible etc:
‘Can you finish this by tomorrow?’ ‘Don’t make me laugh.’
5 . no laughing matter informal something serious that should not be joked about:
It’s no laughing matter having to walk by a group of rowdy drunks every night just to get home.
6 . be laughed out of court ( also be laughed out of town/business etc American English ) if a person or idea is laughed out of court etc, the idea is not accepted because people think it is completely stupid:
We can’t propose that! We’d be laughed out of court!
7 . you have to laugh spoken used to say that, even though a situation is annoying or disappointing, you can also see that there is something funny about it
8 . be laughing all the way to the bank informal to make a lot of money without making much effort
9 . somebody will be laughing on the other side of their face spoken used to say that although someone is happy or confident now, they will be in trouble later
10 . be laughing British English spoken informal to be happy or in a good situation, for example because something has had a successful result for you:
Well they paid me, didn’t they, so I’m laughing.
11 . laugh in sb’s face to behave towards someone in a way that shows that you do not respect them:
I told my sister what I thought, and she just laughed in my face.
12 . laugh up your sleeve to be secretly happy, especially because you have played a trick on someone or criticized them without them knowing
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ burst out laughing (=suddenly start laughing)
She looked at him and burst out laughing.
▪ make somebody laugh
I like Ron, he makes me laugh.
▪ begin/start to laugh
He suddenly began to laugh.
▪ want to laugh (=to feel like laughing, even though it might be more polite not to)
He was so earnest that I wanted to laugh.
▪ try not to laugh (=to not laugh, even though something is funny, because it would not be polite)
‘Are you all right?’ Amy said, trying not to laugh.
▪ fall about laughing British English (=laugh a lot)
He saw the look on my face and he just fell about laughing.
■ adverbs
▪ laugh hysterically (=laugh so much that you cannot stop, because you find something extremely funny)
The people at the next table were laughing hysterically at us.
▪ laugh heartily especially written (=laugh a lot)
Misha laughed heartily throughout the play.
▪ laugh out loud/aloud (=laugh so that other people can hear you)
Some parts of the book were so funny that they made me laugh out loud.
■ phrases
▪ laugh your head off (=laugh a lot)
The audience laughed its head off all the way through.
▪ laugh till you cry/laugh till the tears run down your face
He leaned back in his chair and laughed till the tears ran down his face.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ laugh to make sounds with your voice and move your face, because you think that something is funny:
He looked so funny that we couldn’t stop laughing.
▪ giggle to laugh quickly in a high voice, especially in a slightly silly way, or because you are nervous or embarrassed:
A group of teenage girls were giggling in a corner.
|
She tends to giggle when she meets new people.
▪ chuckle to laugh quietly, especially because you are thinking about or reading something funny:
He was chuckling to himself over an article in the paper.
|
‘We used to get up to all kinds of mischief.’ She chuckled at the memory.
▪ snigger British English , snicker American English to laugh quietly in an unkind or unpleasant way, for example when someone is hurt or embarrassed:
Billy stood up and started to sing, and one or two people sniggered.
▪ titter to laugh quietly in a high voice, especially about something that is rude or about sex, or is embarrassing for someone:
As a nation we love to titter over politicians’ sex scandals.
|
schoolboys tittering over a magazine
▪ roar with laughter to laugh very loudly, especially with a deep voice:
I could hear my father roaring with laughter at something on TV.
▪ shriek with laughter to laugh very loudly, especially with a high voice:
Patsy chased him down the stairs, shrieking with laughter.
▪ howl with laughter to laugh very loudly – used especially about a group of people laughing together:
His plays have made audiences howl with laughter.
▪ in stitches laughing so much that you cannot stop:
It was such a funny film – it had us all in stitches.
▪ guffaw /ɡəˈfɔː $ -ˈfɒː/ to laugh very loudly and without trying to stop yourself:
The audience guffawed at his nonstop jokes.
▪ cackle to laugh loudly in an unpleasant way:
The old woman cackled at the trouble she was causing.
laugh at somebody/something phrasal verb
1 . to make unkind or funny remarks about someone, because they have done or said something you think is stupid SYN tease :
I’m afraid the other kids will laugh at me because I don’t understand.
2 . to seem not to care about something that most people would worry about:
Young offenders just laugh at this sort of sentence.
laugh something ↔ off phrasal verb
to pretend that something is less serious than it really is by laughing or joking about it:
Knox laughed off rumors that he would be running for mayor.
II. laugh 2 S3 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ laugh , ↑ laughter ; adverb : ↑ laughably , ↑ laughingly ; verb : ↑ laugh ; adjective : ↑ laughable ]
1 . [countable] the act of laughing or the sound you make when you laugh:
He gave a short laugh.
with a laugh
‘What a mess!’ she said, with a laugh.
2 . [countable] if something is a laugh, you have fun and enjoy yourself when you are doing it:
We all went to the beach last night – it was a really good laugh.
The other campers were nice, and we had a great laugh together.
It was a great holiday with lots of laughs.
3 . somebody is a (good) laugh British English used to say that someone is amusing and fun to be with:
I like Peter – he’s a good laugh.
4 . for laughs ( also for a laugh British English ) for fun:
We took the hot-air balloon ride, just for laughs.
5 . that’s a laugh spoken used to say that something is silly or unlikely:
Me? Star in a film? That’s a laugh.
6 . have the last laugh to finally be successful, win an argument etc, after other people have earlier criticized you, defeated you etc:
Men make jokes about women drivers, but women have the last laugh – their insurance rates are cheaper.
7 . be a laugh a minute informal to be very funny – sometimes used humorously to mean that someone or something is not at all funny
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ give/let out a laugh
She gave a loud laugh.
▪ get a laugh ( also draw a laugh British English written ) (=be laughed at)
Most of his jokes didn’t even get a laugh.
▪ get a laugh out of somebody (=make someone laugh)
I always managed to get a laugh out of my audience.
▪ have a laugh about/at/over something (=laugh about something)
The farmer had a good laugh at our attempts to catch the horse.
▪ I could use a laugh (=I want to hear something funny to cheer me up)
Tell me what she said - I could use a laugh.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + laugh
▪ a good laugh
We all got a good laugh out of it later.
▪ a big laugh
There was a big laugh from the crowd.
▪ a short/little/small laugh
He let out a nervous little laugh.
▪ a loud/soft laugh
He let out a loud laugh when he heard what had happened.
▪ a belly laugh (=a deep loud laugh)
It’s the kind of comedy that raises a smile rather than a belly laugh.
▪ a hearty laugh (=a loud laugh that shows you really enjoyed something)
With a hearty laugh, he began to tell the story.
▪ a nervous laugh
‘Don’t be silly,’ she said with a nervous laugh.